Wolves parted ways with Vitor Pereira on Sunday, and there is already word of what the Portuguese will look to do next.
The 57-year-old was relieved of his duties following the 3-0 defeat to Fulham on Saturday.
His sacking had been coming. Although Fosun did back him to turn things around, the nature of Saturday’s defeat clearly changed their position.
Many fans had turned on Vitor Pereira after the defeat to Burnley, when there were unsavoury scenes in front of the South Bank. Some even before that.
But Fosun finally turned after the loss to Fulham, and the search is on for a new manager.
Brendan Rodgers, Gary O’Neil and Rob Edwards are all in the frame, and there is no overstating how big a decision this is for Fosun.
For Pereira, it will now be time to reflect on where it all went wrong.
Everyone knows it wasn’t entirely his fault. But he certainly made mistakes.
Despite the fact he’s only just been sacked, there is already word about what he wants following his sacking by Wolves.
Vitor Pereira wants Premier League return as soon as possible
Pereira enjoyed an amazing first few months at Wolves.
The Portuguese came in as Gary O’Neil’s successor and immediately hit the ground running, shoring Wolves at the back.
A six-game winning run was the highlight, and the mood was in stark contrast to what it’s like now, with Pereira regularly out with fans drinking in the pubs of Wolverhampton after victories.
It was ‘First the points, then the pints’ for Pereira. Unfortunately for him on Sunday, it was last orders.
But Pereira isn’t about to wallow.
According to O Jogo, Pereira ‘is to return as soon as possible’ to the Premier League. He is said to believe there was poor planning at Wolves which did not help his cause going into the 2025/26 season. Clearly he feels he still has a lot to give in the Premier League.
Pereira adopting the Julen Lopetegui stance
There is no denying that Wolves’ preparation was poor coming into 2025/26.
There was always a chance that people like Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri were going to leave, as well as Pablo Sarabia and Nelson Semedo, who were both out of contract.
Wolves should have got players through the door sooner, and the club should also have put a bit more focus on signing players with pedigree, or with Premier League experience. We have seen how Sunderland and Brentford have found success signing players like Grant Xhaka and Jordan Henderson.
That said, Pereira did sign off Wolves’ summer recruits, and he has to take a big portion of the blame for how Wolves’ season has panned out.
It remains to be seen if another club would be willing to take a chance on him after how things went at Wolves.
Interestingly, Julen Lopetegui took a similar stance when he left Wolves.
Believing he had been sold short by his superiors, Lopetegui actually stayed in England as he held out for another Premier League job. Eventually, he took over at West Ham United in the summer of 2024.
Perhaps Pereira will do the same and actually stay in the UK. But his stock surely cannot be as high as Lopetegui, who did actually leave Wolves with the respectable achievement of keeping the club in the Premier League.