When rumours of Wolverhampton Wanderers signing Marshall Munetsi began to emerge during the closing hours of the winter transfer window, supporters had every reason to wonder why their often-criticised owners were committing to paying £16m for a relatively-unknown 28-year-old.
With Mario Lemina on the way out, Munetsi was seemingly arriving at Molineux as a straight replacement, the plan to compete with, yet ultimately provide backup, to Brazilian stars Andre and Joao Gomes.
Yet, in the two months and seven games that the Zimbabwe international has been competing in the Premier League, he has helped his new club – struggling prior to his arrival – accumulate 13 points from seven games, the only two defeats coming to Liverpool and Fulham.
Comments on social media will have you believe that Munetsi is not good enough to play in the Premier League. Having squandered two chances at either end of the recent Premier League win over West Ham United, some fans were incandescent that this has been the player chosen to replace Matheus Cunha during his four-match suspension.
His ban was viewed as a disaster, a section of supporters regarding it as the start of an inevitable capitulation on the way to relegation, yet Munetsi has played his part in delivering 10 points from a possible 12 in the wantaway attacker’s absence.
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“It’s because of Munetsi”
In three of the four games that Cunha has missed, Jorgen Strand Larsen has delivered match-winning moments, netting twice in a victory at Southampton and backing it up with decisive efforts versus West Ham and Ipswich Town.
Prior to that hot streak, the Norway international has not scored since December 29. The reason for his upturn in fortunes, according to Vitor Pereira? Munetsi.
Speaking to BBC WM at the weekend, the Wolves boss said: “Do you know why Larsen is playing better now? It’s because of Munetsi. Munetsi is now playing close to him, opening up space for him and helping him to play and attack the space.
“You know, the markers go with him and open the space. This is, of course, because the adaptation to the Premier League is getting better. We have now placed a player behind him, creating space, attacking space, and helping him with the first ball and the second ball.
“This is what happens now. That’s why Larsen, Jorgen, is doing better and better.”
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Expecting goals from Munetsi is unrealistic
Munetsi’s current role has got the feel of fitting a round peg in a square hole, but that is the beauty of it. There is a rawness to his play that makes him unpredictable and his decisions difficult to anticipate.
Although he should have converted at least one of his two chances versus West Ham, it is pure fantasy to expect a goal glut from Munetsi. This is a player who has never scored more than seven times in a league campaign, and only ever scored twice in a match on one occasion, throughout his career.
His cool, instinctive finish in the draw with Everton should perhaps be viewed as a bonus, even if it did show that he does have composure in his locker, contrary to popular belief.
This is a results business and Wolves fans have become accustomed to witnessing Cunha screamers over defensive efforts that begin from the front. There have been times when Cunha’s work-rate and duels-success rate have been exceptional, but Munetsi is bringing something different to the table.
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Munetsi vs. Cunha
As per Opta, Munetsi is making more tackles, has made more blocks, has a higher percentage of ground duels won and a higher percentage of aerial duels won per 90 minutes than Cunha.
Munetsi is also third on the list – behind Cunha and Goncalo Guedes – for playing a part in moves that have led to a shot. There are some areas, such as ball carrying and chance conversion, where Cunha’s numbers are comparable to some of the best players in the Premier League, but Munetsi currently has a greater expected XG than Cunha.
Of course, at some point, that must be turned into goals to justify any sacrifices that Pereira may make with regards to defence over attack, but falling upon the balance in this 3-4-3 – or 3-6-1, if you prefer – has left Pereira with plenty to ponder going forward.
Munetsi’s influence is not the only reason why Wolves have been resurgent. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde has been in inspired form in his own right, earning a nomination for the Premier League’s Player Of The Month for March, while Andre and Joao Gomes have forged a dream partnership in the centre.
Yet, Emmanuel Agbadou – a former teammate of Munetsi at Reims – is flourishing as the lead centre-back, and Munetsi’s miles off the ball are aiding Andre’s and Gomes’s efforts in deeper engine-room roles.
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Damning Cunha statistic
In fact, Munetsi takes such pride in his running that he raised €30,100 for the Marshall Munetsi Foundation during 2022-23, Reims inserting a clause in his contract where €100 would be raised per every kilometre that Munetsi ran in Ligue 1 fixtures. He reached over 300km for the season.
Munetsi, himself, acknowledged at the time that he regularly averages between 11km and 12km per match. Before the international break, only five players in the Premier League were averaging more than 11.6km per game.
Perhaps the most damning statistic of all that was recently delivered by Opta is Cunha being the player who has walked the most in Premier League fixtures during 2024-25, a remarkable 77.6% of the time.
That can partly be counteracted by Cunha’s star quality and the fact that he has scored five times from outside the box in the Premier League this season, the joint-most in the division prior to the international break.
Nevertheless, this is a different Wolves under Pereira, and there will be no passengers when it comes to balance and work-rate. It is no coincidence that Pereira has consistently produced defensively-sound teams, and that Wolves have conceded fewer than one goal in nine of the Portuguese’s 15 Premier League games.
As long as Wolves are maintaining that ratio at the back, the flair players may have to take a back seat to the industry of Munetsi, a player that many Wolves fan had not heard of in January, yet cannot do without.
