As Gary O’Neil continues to figure out how to utilise the talent on show at Wolverhampton Wanderers, there is plenty of movement going on outside of the club that could benefit the manager in the future.
The Midlands club know all too well the benefits of allowing a fringe player to progress on loan, with the development of academy graduate Morgan Gibbs-White’s career prevailing to be a highly profitable leap.
In the summer of 2021, Bruno Lage made the conscious decision to allow the Englishman to depart on a season-long loan in the Championship with Sheffield United, a spell that the midfielder grasped with both hands.
22 direct goal involvements later, and the 23-year-old returned to Molineux with rave reviews, paving the way for his sale to Nottingham Forest later in the summer, earning the Old Gold a profit of £42.5m for their academy star.
Now, Wolves could be set to be in good stead to see another one of their academy hopefuls progress through the ranks at senior level, as Luke Cundle continues to make a statement in the Championship with Plymouth Argyle.
Luke Cundle’s career so far
Arriving at Molineux back in 2014 from Burnley’s youth system, Cundle has journeyed through the ranks within the Midlands club’s academy to find himself at 21-years-old with valuable experience at senior level.
Deployed in central midfield, the academy graduate is a name many already know on the scene in Wolverhampton, due to his success with both the U18’s and U21’s, as well as his opportunities with the first team as a teen.
At U18 level, the midfielder secured a total of 42 appearances in all competitions, in which he netted five goals and recorded three assists, with improvements shown with the U21’s as he scored nine and assisted 14 in 53 appearances.
In February 2022, the 19-year-old was handed his full Premier League debut by Lage, playing 84 minutes against Tottenham Hotspur during the Old Gold’s 2-0 win in north London.
After the game, Lage praised the teen as being “comfortable” at playing in such a highly-contested affair, which was a fair comment as he maintained a passing accuracy rate of 96% in central midfield.
If there’s one thing that the Warrington-born gem didn’t do on his debut, it was shy away, as he recorded one key pass and created one big chance to showcase his playmaking ability against Antonio Conte’s side.
Cundle has made a total of seven senior appearances for the Old Gold so far, however the majority of his development has taken place away from the Midlands.
In the summer of 2022, the decision was made for the Wolves graduate to grow as a player away from the comforts of the academy, as he signed a season-long loan deal with Swansea City in the Championship.
During his time with the Swans, former manager Russell Martin waxed lyrical over his loanee, praising his “willingness to work” and dubbing him “a player to be excited about” for his “technically gifted and intelligent” ways on the pitch.
Figure
34
3
4
1
3
89%
42%
In 34 appearances in South Wales, Cundle contributed to seven goals, scoring three and assisting four, however his displays went far beyond his efforts in the final third.
In the 2022/23 Championship, the 21-year-old averaged one key pass per game, as well as a passing accuracy of 89% to showcase how comfortable he is on the ball in an area as critical as the midfield.
The praise from Martin was mirrored from past comments during the youngster’s time in Wolves’ academy, where U21’s head coach, James Collins, gushed over his midfielder’s ability.
Collins lauded Cundle’s ability to dictate the game, touching on his “outstanding brain” and decision-making, describing him as “magnificent” for his versatility in adhering to both the defensive and attacking roles in the engine room.
“He’s got an outstanding brain and drives the game, he runs the game and dictates it which is a great skill. He’s intelligent, makes good decisions, can attack and defend and when you first see him, you wonder whether he could be a Premier League player because he’s slight and small.”
After succeeding at the Liberty Stadium, the youngster to his parent club and has since been redeployed away from the Midlands, in what could be a decisive season with reference to his future at Wolves.
Luke Cundle’s stats this season
After penning a renewed deal at Molineux in 2022 to take his stay to at least 2026, performing well throughout the 2023/24 campaign could pave the way for the Englishman to become part of O’Neil’s plans in the future.
Two days prior to O’Neil’s arrival as manager, Cundle was sent on loan to Plymouth, preparing for another spell in the second tier to gain added confidence and experience.
It’s been a difficult start to life in the Championship for Argyle, who were promoted from League One earlier this year, however it hasn’t taken long for the Wolves loanee to impose himself as a shining light in the Pilgrims’ squad.
In a total of 15 appearances for Steven Schumacher’s side this season, the 21-year-old has netted four goals and recorded two assists from central midfield so far, scoring three goals in the league.
With such a scoring record in the Championship, Cundle would rank as Wolves’ second-highest scorer this campaign, with only Hee-chan Hwang netting more goals in the league than the loanee.
Rank
Player
League goals
Goals in all comps
1
Hee-chan Hwang
6
8
2
Matheus Cunha
2
4
3
Sasa Kalajdzic
2
3
4
Pedro Neto
1
2
5
Mario Lemina/Jean-Ricner Bellegarde
1
1
Figures via Sportsmole
In fact, the academy graduate has scored more than O’Neil’s star player Pedro Neto, who has only found the net once in the Premier League so far this term.
Due to his encouraging start to life in the South West, the 2002-born whiz has received strong reviews from Schumacher, who praised the versatile gem as “outstanding” for his displays in green and gold.
One of the most notable goals of the playmaker's career with Argyle so far is his Carabao Cup goal against Premier League side Crystal Palace, suggesting that he could soon be ready to play at the standard in the top flight.
The future is looking bright for Cundle if he can continue his form at senior level, with a potential spot there for him to graduate into on his return to Molineux in the summer.