Ruben Amorim has said that Matheus Cunha has “levels to go” at Manchester United and urged the forward to forget about his modest goal return since his summer move from Wolves.
Cunha is set to return to the squad ahead of West Ham’s trip to Old Trafford on Thursday after missing the last two games with a head injury suffered in training.
The 26-year-old has got one goal in 11 games following his £62.5m move from Molineux.
Amorim, however, has told the Brazil international that statistics aren’t the only way to judge players.
“He has more levels to go,” Amorim told a news conference on Wednesday.
“He’s at a different club, different pressure. He was struggling because he was not scoring, he was thinking too much about the numbers but the influence he has in the team is important to us.”
Cunha has been cleared to return to the squad to face West Ham, but Benjamin Sesko and Harry Maguire remain sidelined.
Amorim revealed that he has two other injury doubts ahead of the game — one of which could be captain Bruno Fernandes after United captain looked to be in discomfort towards the end of the 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Matheus Cunha has scored one goal in 11 games for Man United. Visionhaus/Getty Images
“We have two doubts for the game,” Amorim said.
“I will not tell you today because it will change the way we are going to approach so let’s see if they can play. The rest of the squad is good, Matheus is back but I have two players who maybe they cannot play.”
Amorim will also have to decide whether to start with Leny Yoro against West Ham. The youngster gave away a penalty against Palace and looked upset as he sat on the bench following his substitution in the second half.
Yoro was also consoled by Mason Mount at the end of the game while players and staff celebrated in front of the travelling fans at Selhurst Park.
“I spoke with him because he thinks too much,” Amorim said.
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“He makes a mistake in the game and then he struggles because he’s too young and he wants to do everything so well.
“He’s growing, with games and with setbacks, it’s not easy for him as a young guy. He cannot give that to the people the way he came to the bench, he understands that but he was really frustrated.
“On the good side it shows that he cares. He knows it wasn’t his best game but he did some things well and I showed him that also. He’s fit and ready for the next challenge.”
