Wolves sack – Wolverhampton Wanderers have sacked Rob Edwards and are close to appointing Portuguese coach Cesar Peixoto, a switch that comes just hours after Edwards praised the early signings of Raul Jimenez and Kieran Trippier.
Wolves made the kind of move that changes a club’s mood overnight. Rob Edwards, 43, was sacked, and the club is now on the verge of replacing him with Portuguese coach Cesar Peixoto.
Edwards arrived at Molineux last November when Wolves were bottom of the Premier League and winless. The gamble didn’t pay off. Wolves finished 20th and won just three league games, and Edwards failed to leave the mark that supporters and the hierarchy had hoped for.
The timing has sharpened the shock. Edwards had been widely expected to lead Wolves’ immediate attempt to return to the Premier League at the first attempt, and he played a key role in Wolves’ early summer statement business that included the signings of Raul Jimenez and Kieran Trippier.
Now, Peixoto—46, and represented by the Jorge Mendes-owned Gestifute agency—is set to take over instead. Peixoto guided Gil Vicente to sixth in the Portuguese top flight in 2025-26. The appointment is described as imminent. with a Portuguese outlet. A Bola. reporting that negotiations had been ongoing for several days and that he is seen as the ideal coach to bring Wolves back to the Premier League.
The decision lands as a major rupture of expectations. Edwards had been expected to stay on after last season’s relegation, even though Wolves had already looked as if their fall from the top flight was inevitable.
Wolves paid £4million in compensation to Middlesbrough to recruit Edwards in November after sacking Vitor Pereira. That context matters for the scale of the upheaval. It’s not just a change of coach—it’s a fast reversal after a costly recruitment.
Edwards had also spent time presenting a united front in the period before this latest turn. At a fans forum last month, he appeared alongside chairman Jeff Shi and technical director Matt Jackson.
In recent months, Edwards has frequently spoken about the 2026-27 campaign and plans for a major squad overhaul. That groundwork was already in the spotlight again just days earlier, when he appeared on Tuesday in an interview with Wolves’ in-house channels.
In that interview, shared on X by Wolves’ social media account on Wednesday evening, Edwards praised the early signings and framed Wolves’ priorities for the season ahead.
“I have been saying we need to be stronger than what we were last year, and I know it’s not nice for people to hear, but it was just incredibly hard for us just to compete in the Premier League last year, and that’s just the truth,” Edwards said.
He continued: “We know things need to improve. and we’re working really hard to try and do that as quickly as possible. The challenge from those above me is that we need to get promoted again. but that same challenge will obviously be going out to West Ham. to Burnley. and there’ll be a lot of others in the mix who will be throwing a lot of money at it. and it’ll make the league really competitive this year. so we know how hard it’s going to be.”.
Edwards tied the start of Wolves’ summer recruitment directly to the mood inside the club. “That’s why we need to be really strong. so with Andre committing (to a new contract). Tripps and now Raul coming in. I think it’s a great start for us. and I know everyone is really pleased. and hopefully they believe more in what we’re trying to do. but there’s a lot more we’ve still got to do and there’ll be more to come.”.
He also added: “The signings we’re making at the moment will be ticking one box, and there’s more to be done, but then the results and how we start the season is what matters.”
Edwards then looked back at what he described as a difficult recent pattern for Wolves and the pressure it created for supporters. “Over the last few years. we’ve been losing more games than we’ve been winning. and that’s difficult for the fans to go through. but we hope that’s reversed next year. not because it’s the Championship. but because we’ll have done good work. and we’ve earned the right to be at the top end of the league.”.
He finished with a message aimed at restoring faith through performance: “If we’re getting results and players are working extremely hard and they’re giving everything to the football club, then I’m sure the fans will get right behind us.”
The move to sack Edwards and replace him with Peixoto now puts those words under an entirely different light. Even as Wolves went through early summer business that Edwards publicly welcomed, the club has acted to change the coach who was meant to drive the next phase.
Peixoto’s background in Portugal includes managing Moreirense, Pacos Ferreira, Chaves and Varzim, along with Academica in Colombia. With Mendes involvement in Wolves’ wider dealings over the years. his emergence as the imminent option feels tied to a familiar network as well as a fresh football direction.
What’s left now is the immediate question Wolves fans will ask next: how quickly the new coach’s plans will reshape a squad overhaul already being discussed, and whether the club’s push back toward the Premier League can be accelerated after a season that ended in relegation and a 20th-place finish.
Wolves Rob Edwards Cesar Peixoto Raul Jimenez Kieran Trippier Jeff Shi Matt Jackson Vitor Pereira Middlesbrough Gil Vicente Gestifute Jorge Mendes Premier League Championship