Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White didn’t hold back. Before Saturday’s match, he voiced what most Premier League squads have started to quietly acknowledge: Manchester United now have a new defensive nightmare — and he’s in unstoppable form.
“If there’s one player I’d rather not face right now, it’s him,” Gibbs-White admitted. “This guy has become an absolute monster under Amorim. Everyone in our dressing room is talking about him. We’ve seen the highlights — and no one’s figured out how to stop him yet.”
The player in question?
Matheus Cunha.
The same Cunha people once doubted. The one critics labeled as all effort and no end product. The forward who supposedly lacked the finishing touch for the elite level.
That version of Cunha is gone.
Under Ruben Amorim, he’s transformed.
Now, he’s brimming with confidence.
He presses relentlessly.
He carries the ball forward with conviction.
His link-up play is crisp, his finishing ruthless.
This is a striker who can smell defenders’ fear.
The change is visible:
His touch is smoother.
His movement, more calculated.
His presence, commanding.
And every goal feels deliberate — crafted, not accidental.
Amorim didn’t just give him game time — he gave him meaning. He told him, “You’re not just part of the system. You’re the spark that ignites it.”
Cunha took that to heart.
Now, defenders hesitate to close him down.
Center-backs who try to bully him end up chasing shadows.
He’s no longer trying to belong — he’s trying to dominate.
Forest’s analysts have done their homework. They’ve seen Cunha rip through Aston Villa’s defense. They’ve watched him press Arsenal into errors. They’ve studied how he creates chances out of thin air.
But this weekend, they’ll have to face him live.
They’ll double up on him.
They’ll cut his supply lines.
They’ll try to disrupt his rhythm.
But deep down, they know:
When Cunha switches on, there’s no stopping him.
Not with the confidence he’s playing with.
Not with that hunger.
Not with that drive.
Saturday won’t just be Forest versus Manchester United.
It’ll be Forest against the Amorim-rebuilt Matheus Cunha —
the version that’s haunting defenders across the league.
Gibbs-White said it best because he knows what’s coming.
Cunha doesn’t care about hype or headlines.
He’s focused on one thing only: causing damage.