Leeds United podcaster Joe Wainman has given his views on the club’s attempts to try and sign Matheus Cunha.
Leeds have reportedly been interested in the Brazilian forward for some time now, and look to be getting closer to making a deal.
A recent claim from Brazilian outlet UOL Esporte (via Sport Witness) claimed that a deal of between €25m and €30m (£21.5m and £26m) would be enough to get the deal done, with Leeds Live claiming that the German side’s recent purchase of Kevin-Prince Boateng makes it all the more likely that the deal will go through.
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However speaking on his YouTube channel, Wainman felt that in his opinion, the deal could potentially drag on due to Cunha’s participation in this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo:
“My opinion is I’m more pro than I am against. The reason I say that is I remember Victor Orta saying specifically, ‘he doesn’t expect the winger to be done until late in the window’. I believe the reason that is, is because Matheus Cunha is at the Olympics. OK, that’s my genuine opinion.”
TIF Thoughts on Joe Wainman’s comments about Matheus Cunha
There certainly is logic behind Wainman’s thinking. It’s not exactly unheard of for players to want to put off their transfer business until after summer tournaments have taken place, with England captain Harry Kane making that point a few months ago. However, this might not work out well for Leeds United.
If this deal gets dragged out further and further, particularly factoring in the Olympics, then that means less time on the training ground with Marcelo Bielsa when and if they do manage to complete a deal.
Given the type of training that Leeds United players have to go through to get used to Bielsa’s style of play, then the longer the deal takes, and less likely is the chance of him being ready as soon as he returns from the Games.
And if Leeds are willing to spend that much on someone, surely you’d want him to be ready to go at the earliest possible opportunity.
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