Tim Howard says ‘maverick’ £62.5m star is a ‘proper Manchester United player’

Tim Howard says he is excited about the ‘great additions’ made at Old Trafford this summer and believes Matheus Cunha has the ‘bravado’ to be a ‘proper Manchester United player’.

The Red Devils set out their stall early on in the transfer window by triggering Cunha’s £62.5million release clause at Wolves, with the 26-year-old putting pen to paper on a five-year contract.

Cunha enjoyed an excellent season at Molineux last season, racking up 15 goals and six assists in the Premier League, and there are hopes the Brazilian can help transform Ruben Amorim’s misfiring attack.

United followed this up by landing Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford in a deal worth around £71m and both players have joined up with their new team-mates on the club’s pre-season tour of the United States.

However, the duo are yet to work their way up to full match fitness and were not ready to make their debuts as United preserved their 100 per cent record in the Premier League Summer Series.

In their absence, Rasmus Hojlund, Patrick Dorgu, Amad Diallo and Ethan Williams all got on the scoresheet as United ran out comprehensive 4-1 victors over Bournemouth at Chicago’s iconic Soldier Field.

Speaking ahead of Thursday’s one-sided friendly, former United and USA goalkeeper Howard said he had been ‘encouraged’ by what he had seen after watching Amorim’s men training in the Windy City.

‘I don’t know if it’s the newness of a new season or additions and subtractions, but this team, this squad, looks energised, they look lively and they look committed,’ Howard told United’s official website.

‘It’s a small sample size, but I’m encouraged for what I think United can do this season.’

Howard has been impressed by the signings made at the Theatre of Dreams this summer and is especially looking forward to seeing how ‘maverick’ Cunha performs in United colours.

‘Great additions,’ the 2004 FA Cup winner said of United’s transfer business.

‘I think about Cunha, as an example. I was at United for three years, I was a youngster, and what I learned there is that you can only play for United if you have pizzazz and personality.

‘There is a bravado that comes along with Cunha and I just think he’s a proper United player.

‘He’s a bit of a maverick and I think you need that to succeed at United so I am excited for him.

‘It used to be that every team had one [a maverick], but they are few and far between now which I think makes him stand out and gets me excited about him.’

Having successfully captured Cunha and Mbeumo, United’s hierarchy have turned their attentions to signing an out-and-out centre-forward capable of scoring the goals Amorim’s side so badly lacked last term.

Viktor Gyokeres had been identified as United’s primary target on the back of another exceptional season with Sporting, in which he scored 54 goals in 52 games to help steer his side win a domestic double.

But OId Trafford bosses were forced to concede defeat as Arsenal agreed a deal for the prolific Swede and only two names remain on the club’s transfer shortlist: RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins.

RB Leipzig are said to be demanding a fee of around £70m for Sesko, while Watkins, the far cheaper option, is valued at between £40m-£45m at Villa Park.

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