Dave Edwards: Wolves talisman Matheus Cunha has become a crucial component now

Matheus Cunha really made his mark on his return to the starting XI.

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He had a few minutes as a substitute recently to get some sharpness back, but he didn’t need a lot of time to show everyone why Wolves have missed him so much.

It was another brilliant performance from him. Full of creativity, linking play and scoring goals.

It was an absolute wonder-goal with his individual run and the awareness he had inside the box to get it on to his right foot made it a fantastic finish.

It just showcases the huge drop-off when he’s not available and that must leave Gary O’Neil so frustrated.

I really do think, with Cunha in the team, Wolves would be in an FA Cup semi-final and they’d still be right in the hunt for these European places. He’s that important to the team.

He’s been the X-Factor, just like Pedro Neto was at the start. Cunha has grown into being a pivotal part of that front line.

The way he links play, brings others into the game and turns defence into attack so quickly – and then adding goals and assists, which he wasn’t doing last season – means it has been a fantastic season for him.

Let’s just hope he can now stay fit, looking ahead to next year. Keep him fit and give him more support around him, so he can eclipse what he’s done this season.

It was a fantastic individual performance and that’s what got Wolves a point in the end.

O’Neil hasn’t got many team selections wrong and he’s very fluid in the way he selects his line-up.

When we saw Tommy Doyle on the left against West Ham a lot of eyebrows were raised, but it was really effective.

So, I was surprised to see him back in a midfield three against Forest. Gomes, Lemina and Doyle are all exceptional players, but I do feel when they are all playing in central midfield, they don’t have someone who naturally breaks forward or someone who is a natural defensive midfielder.

They all do a similar job, although they have very different skill sets, and I feel they all play better in a midfield two. It felt on Saturday that they almost nullified each other a little bit and it was overcrowded in there.

Especially with Rayan Ait-Nouri missing, it would have made sense for Doyle to stay higher up. Maybe, in hindsight, O’Neil will look at getting that balance right in midfield.

But, he’s got very little wrong since arriving at Wolves, so he won’t get criticism from me.

Meanwhile, I’m interested to see what happens with Hugo Bueno in the summer, as there’s clearly something not quite right.

Whether it’s O’Neil not quite fancying him, whether it’s him carrying injuries, something doesn’t feel right because he was so good last season.

He was well above Ait-Nouri at the time and didn’t look like losing his place.

Matt Doherty is a fantastic and reliable player but to play him on his wrong side over Bueno is another indication that something’s not right.

That’s a real shame because he burst into the team last season with some terrific performances.

He’s a good ball-player and I loved how he got crosses in. It’s a shame to see him not kick-on, which is partly down to Ait-Nouri’s form.

It will be really interesting to see what O’Neil’s thoughts are on him and what the future holds for Bueno at Wolves.

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