Atletico Madrid's Leeds United-linked striker Matheus Cunha will undoubtedly have a point to prove in the coming weeks having endured a tough start to the season in the Spanish capital whilst also missing out on Brazil's final 26-man squad for the World Cup.
The 23-year-old is yet to find the back of the net for Diego Simeone's side this term, leading to suggestions that the Brazilian could be offloaded in the January transfer window with Leeds and Premier League rivals Wolves two of the names frequently associated with Cunha's.
Leeds boss Jesse Marsch has worked with the forward before in his role as assistant manager at RB Leipzig in the 2018/19 season with the duo both arriving at the Bundesliga outfit at the same time, Marsch from MLS outfit New York Red Bulls and Cunha from French side FC Sion.
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However, the American head coach left after just one season to take up the managerial vacancy at RB Salzburg whilst the Brazilian stayed put for another half season before joining Hertha Berlin in January 2020.
With nine goals and three assists in 52 appearances for Leipzig compared to 13 goals and 10 assists for Hertha, it's clear to see where Cunha thrived before heading to Atletico in August 2021.
Last term saw the 23-year-old net seven goals and seven assists but that form hasn't continued into the current season, with the forward having just two assists to his name thus far.
It's that form that majorly contributed to Brazil boss Tite's decision to leave out Cunha from his squad, with the Atletico man posting a video on Instagram showing his devastation at the news. The post was captioned with the following, as translated by SPORTBible: “To everyone who keeps sending me messages, thank you. It was hard, it was painful, but that's part of it. Our selection is spectacular and the competition is very great.
"Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support and we will be cheering you on."
It's certainly been a tough campaign for the eight-cap Brazilian thus far with no goals yet as well as missing out on going to Qatar with his national team, who were surprisingly eliminated on penalties by Croatia in the quarter-finals. Perhaps a new club is exactly what he needs and, with Leeds United's desperation for a striker, the Whites could be a perfect solution.
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