Often, it happens that a player finds professionalism and dedication in his career after leaving Manchester United, but Andy Mitten has had a reverse pleasant experience.
Ineos have made a concerted effort under their ownership to get rid of the “bad eggs” in the dressing room, and a cultural reset has been on top of Ruben Amorim’s agenda as well.
It’s why Jadon Sancho wasn’t entertained by Amorim at all despite never playing under his management, and Alejandro Garnacho was jettisoned after a couple of transgressions.
It is interesting to note, therefore, that a player who made a ‘troublesome’ first impression on Andy Mitten before he joined Man Utd has ended up becoming a dressing room spark in the best way possible.
Andy Mitten makes Matheus Cunha revelation
Matheus Cunha had quite the bombastic start to his life at Old Trafford, getting compared to Eric Cantona by CEO Omar Berrada before he had even played a competitive fixture.
Cunha is yet to score for United in a competitive game, but his style of play and fearless way of carrying himself have already endeared him to Man Utd fans.
It’s a welcome sight because even though he was coming off a breakout season for Wolves, there were questions over his temperament.
They had followed him throughout his career, and Andy Mitten, speaking on the “United! United! United!” podcast, said he didn’t receive glowing reports about Cunha’s character at Wolves either.
He said: “I was at Wolves in January, and my impression of Matheus Cunha was troublesome. I was speaking to other players, and then I met him in the real world a month ago.
“I met him at Carrington, and I’m like, ‘You’re really intelligent’. I think his wife is a lawyer. He speaks five languages, and he was outscoring me on geography!”
Man Utd needed a character like Cunha
It has been said for a long time that players fail at Old Trafford due to not being mentally strong enough or not having that force of personality to take the game by the scruff of its neck.
Cunha’s temperament has been under scrutiny, and handling it head-on is not for everybody, but that’s exactly the kind of headstrong character United’s dressing room needed.
As long as that manic desire to win at all costs is channeled in the right direction, United will have a match-winner on their hands who puts his hand up in difficult moments.
Apart from Bruno Fernandes, that’s not a statement that fits many players in the squad, and even Fernandes has a tendency to get frustrated more than driven.
“Troublesome” is not what you want to hear about a player at your club, but in Cunha’s case, it’s probably meant in the best possible way.