Gary O’Neil believes Matheus Cunha’s potential is “limitless” after his stunning performance helped Wolves to their first Premier League away win of the season in a 4-1 comeback victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage.
The Brazil forward made it six league goals for the season after his 31st-minute finish helped Wolves draw level after Alex Iwobi’s opener from distance.
Cunha was Wolves’ focal point all afternoon and, after he assisted Joao Gomes after the break, his curled effort confirmed his brace and put the game beyond Fulham’s reach.
Goncalo Guedes came off the bench to add the gloss in second-half added-time, but O’Neil’s plaudits went to Cunha’s performance.
He said: “There’s no limit to where he can get to, ability wise. He’s going to stay at Wolves for as long as possible firstly but after that there’s no limit to where he can go.
“Everyone knows how important he is to us. This isn’t the Matheus who arrived at Wolves.
“His numbers, his hunger, his willingness to do the other side of it, he’s come on so much, he leads that and I love working with him, he can be a top player. He works every day to be as good as he can be.
“It was Matheus Cunha’s best out-of-possession performance I’ve seen from him, we have big quality and can score goals.
“Bernardo Silva and Martin Odegaard are top without the ball – Matheus’ numbers are as good as anybody.”
The win marked a second-successive victory for Wolves following their 2-0 victory over Southampton at Molineux before the international break.
Saturday’s three points in London lift them out of the bottom three until at least Sunday where fellow strugglers Ipswich and Southampton host Manchester United and Liverpool respectively.
“I was pleased for the fans and players who’ve suffered tough weeks,” O’Neil added.
“It’s been hard work and we’ve kept humble and honest, we wanted to turn it around and it was a step in the right direction today.
“It was one of my most favourite performances. It was one of my most favourite afternoons as Wolves head coach to come here to Fulham and win so comfortably, so it was a top performance with and without the ball.”
A defeat for Marco Silva’s Fulham ended their hopes of three-successive wins following London derby victories over Brentford and Crystal Palace.
Silva admitted he was not surprised with Cunha’s quality to make the difference.
“He’s a good example, it doesn’t surprise me because they have individual quality. I know what they’re capable of doing and they have players like Cunha who is a very good striker and has a very good impact in the way they play,” Silva said.
“He never gives up and with all the balls, he fights, he can attack in behind and create problems for the back four. He’s a good example of the quality they have.”
