Only four players have scored more goals than Wolves' Matheus Cunha after 18 matches of the Premier League season. Alexander Isak is the sole name to have done it without needing a single penalty.

Add in Cunha's assists (four), and he is sixth in the division for overall contributions. With Wolves down in 17th, hovering just above the relegation zone and within a matchday swing of dropping back into the bottom three, his achievement is all the more impressive.

When it comes to goals and assists, Bryan Mbeumo in 12th with Brentford is the next player to represent a higher-placed team above Wolves on this list. Jarrod Bowen at West Ham (13th in the league, 17th in the contribution chart) follows them.

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Markers for a player's worth, value, and performances don't come much bigger than that. It is why Liverpool have now been linked with Wolves' star.

He is reportedly one of the targets heading into 2025 with Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Newcastle all providing competition. Cunha is not said to be pushing for an exit next month despite the form and interest but is sure to be one to watch for the coming winter and summer windows regardless.

Having ended last season with 12 goals and seven assists - only one of those coming from spot - it is a bank of work being built by Cunha that now demands attention. Always a promising player at Hertha Berlin and then Atletico Madrid, he is developing into a genuine standout for the Premier League.

Despite being young, the Brazilian international has always commanded large fees. RB Leipzig spent over £10million to sign him as a teenager before nearly doubling their money two years later in a move across the Bundesliga. 18 months later it was Diego Simeone again nearly paying twice as much with Atleti.

Wolves were convinced by his six-month loan and parted with over £45million to get him to Molineux. It is said that at least the same again will be needed to see them part way with Cunha in 2025.

On current form, it is a price that is hard to argue with. If anything, at current market rates, it is probably less than might have been expected. Wolves are not in a position where they need to sell right now, though, and have seen their fortunes start to pick up under Vitor Pereira. If they stay up then it will only boost their resoluteness to keep him.

Such has been the rise of Cunha, his estimated value has shot up as well as his own standing in the game. Shortly after moving to Wolves on loan he was deemed to be worth just over £25million by Transfermarkt. That has almost only gone up since, which shows just how influential he has been.

This time last year his price was seen to be at just shy of £30million with last season ending with him up at over £40million, reflecting where Wolves thought he was as a player. Now resting a notch higher at nearly £45milion. CIES Football Observatory agrees, pitting him at £43million earlier this season.

For Liverpool, who know they will have to go big in order to try and prize him away from the Midlands, it will hurt to see where his stock was and how readily available he might have been previously. However, competing at the top of the table leaves the club with very little room for manoeuvre and waiting for Cunha to shoot up is not much of an option either.

Given that he was picked up for £25million just over three years ago and is now worth considerably more, it is a blow to see the price now be so much more. That is the game that is played at the highest end, though, and Liverpool may well see it as being reasonable now.