Wolves Sack Rob Edwards as Cesar Peixoto Set to Take Over

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

Edwards was informed of the decision by the club’s hierarchy despite having been central to a summer rebuild that delivered high-profile arrivals Kieran Trippier and Raúl Jiménez. Both signings were sold on the idea of playing for him. Now the man who helped bring them in is out of a job.

From rebuild architect to the exit door

Wolves finished bottom of the Premier League last season, a grim campaign that saw Vitor Pereira dismissed in November and Edwards brought in with a clear brief: accept likely relegation, then lead a reset in the Championship.

The club paid Middlesbrough £4 million to prise him away while Boro were top of the Championship table. It was a bold, expensive play that signalled long‑term faith. Edwards, in turn, set about reshaping the club’s identity.

He forged a strong partnership with technical director Matt Jackson, with the pair driving a strategy to recruit more British players and strengthen the home‑grown core of the squad. Inside the training ground, staff spoke of a cultural shift – standards raised, communication sharpened, the mood gradually lifting after a bleak season.

That work now hangs in the balance.

New signings caught in the crossfire

The timing of the decision jars with the public messaging of the past week. Edwards appeared in Jiménez’s “Welcome Home” video announcement on club channels just two days ago, front and centre in the narrative of Wolves’ fresh start. Trippier, unveiled on Wednesday, openly credited Edwards as a major reason for choosing Wolves in his first interview.

Those moments were presented as evidence of a new project taking shape under a manager trusted to steer the club through the Championship. Instead, they have been rendered instantly outdated, the positivity around two marquee signings undercut by a sudden change of direction.

Inside the fanbase and dressing room, questions will be sharp. What kind of project are these players walking into now? Who is really driving the vision?

Mendes influence and Peixoto’s rise

Behind the scenes, the answer has been forming for some time.

Cesar Peixoto, represented by Gestifute – the powerful agency owned by Jorge Mendes – is now on the brink of being appointed. Peixoto’s coaching career to date has been entirely in Portugal, most notably as head coach of Gil Vicente. He has never managed in English football.

Mendes and his associate Valdir Cardoso have maintained close ties with Wolves’ owners, Fosun, since their takeover in 2016. Those connections have shaped several eras at Molineux, and they are once again at the heart of a managerial change.

While Edwards worked on rebuilding a British core and reshaping the culture, a parallel track was unfolding. Mendes and Cardoso were quietly assembling a deal for Peixoto to step in before the new Championship campaign kicks off.

The pressure finally told. The club has turned back towards the Portuguese pipeline that defined its recent past, at the expense of the man hired to lead its future.

A club at a crossroads

The decision risks shattering the fragile optimism that had begun to form around Wolves after relegation. Trippier and Jiménez brought credibility and excitement. Edwards brought continuity and a clear plan. All three were aligned.

Now the coach is gone, the plan has been rewritten, and a new Portuguese era appears ready to begin.

Wolves wanted a reset. What they have instead is a rupture – and a new head coach walking into a club that must quickly decide what, and who, it really wants to be.