Wolves Sack Rob Edwards as Peixoto Set to Take Over

Wolverhampton Wanderers have sacked Rob Edwards in a stunning move just weeks before the new season, with Portuguese coach Cesar Peixoto poised to take charge at Molineux.

Edwards was informed of the decision by the club’s hierarchy despite playing a central role in reshaping the squad this summer, including the arrivals of Kieran Trippier and Raúl Jiménez. His dismissal cuts short a turbulent but brief tenure that began with the understanding he would oversee a long-term rebuild in the Championship.

Wolves finished bottom of the Premier League last season, a campaign that had already seen upheaval when Vitor Pereira was sacked in November. The club then paid Middlesbrough £4 million to prise Edwards away while Boro sat top of the Championship, backing him as the figurehead for a reset after relegation.

Now that plan has been ripped up.

Edwards out, Peixoto in

Peixoto, represented by the Jorge Mendes-owned Gestifute agency, is on the brink of being appointed as Wolves’ new head coach. The 44-year-old has previously managed Gil Vicente and has worked exclusively in Portugal so far in his coaching career.

Behind the scenes, Mendes and his associate Valdir Cardoso have been constructing the deal for Peixoto, maintaining the powerful links they have held with Wolves’ owners, Fosun, since the 2016 takeover. While Edwards fronted the club’s new direction in public, the groundwork for his replacement was already being laid in private.

The timing is brutal. The decision threatens to puncture the optimism that had finally begun to return around Molineux.

Cultural reset cut short

Edwards had forged a close working relationship with technical director Matt Jackson, with the pair steering recruitment towards British talent to strengthen the club’s home-grown quota. It was a deliberate shift in identity after years of heavy reliance on overseas markets.

Players and staff had spoken of a cultural change under Edwards: more accountability, a tighter dressing room, a clearer sense of what Wolves wanted to be in the second tier. That narrative now feels suddenly fragile.

The human cost is stark. Edwards featured prominently in Jiménez’s “Welcome Home” announcement video released on social media just two days ago, symbolising his role at the heart of Wolves’ rebuild. Trippier, unveiled on Wednesday, publicly cited Edwards’ presence as a major factor in his decision to join, underlining the manager’s influence in persuading established names to drop into the Championship.

Within 48 hours, the man they signed up to play for is gone.

Power lines laid bare

The move again underlines the enduring power of Mendes in shaping Wolves’ direction. Fosun’s relationship with the super-agent has defined much of the club’s modern era, from marquee signings to coaching appointments. Peixoto’s impending arrival fits that pattern.

For Wolves supporters, the questions are obvious. A club that accepted relegation as the price of a reset had seemingly found a figure willing to lead the rebuild and attract proven talent to the second tier. Now they must adjust again, this time to a coach who has never worked outside Portugal and inherits a squad recruited with another man’s vision in mind.

The positivity of Trippier and Jiménez walking through the door was supposed to signal a fresh start. Instead, it has been overshadowed by a decision that drags Wolves back into familiar territory: high stakes, high risk, and a season in the Championship that already looks anything but straightforward.