Wolves Sack Rob Edwards as Cesar Peixoto Nears Appointment
Wolverhampton Wanderers have sacked Rob Edwards in a stunning move that cuts across their own summer rebuild and clears the way for Portuguese coach Cesar Peixoto to take charge at Molineux.
Edwards was informed by the club’s hierarchy that his brief reign was over, despite having been central to two headline arrivals: Kieran Trippier and Raúl Jiménez. Both signings had been held up internally as proof that Wolves were backing their manager to lead a reset in the Championship after last season’s Premier League relegation.
Instead, the club has pivoted again.
From cornerstone to casualty
Wolves paid Middlesbrough £4 million to prise Edwards away last season, when Boro were top of the Championship. He arrived in November after Vitor Pereira was dismissed, walking into a club already braced for the drop and tasked with steering a long-term rebuild outside the top flight.
Relegation came. The rebuild, it seemed, had finally begun.
Edwards worked closely with technical director Matt Jackson, forging what insiders described as a strong, aligned partnership. Their focus this summer was clear: recruit more British talent, strengthen the home-grown core, reset the culture. It was a deliberate step away from the scattershot feel of recent seasons.
The manager’s influence was everywhere. He appeared in Jiménez’s “Welcome Home” video on club channels only two days ago, a clear signal that he was meant to be central to the new era. Trippier, unveiled on Wednesday, publicly highlighted Edwards’ presence as a key factor in his decision to join. Around the training ground, staff spoke of a cultural shift under the new man, a sense of clarity after a chaotic year.
All of that now hangs in the air.
The Mendes machine moves
While Edwards fronted the rebuild in public, a different plan gathered pace in the background.
Cesar Peixoto, represented by Gestifute, the agency owned by Jorge Mendes, is on the verge of being appointed as the new head coach. Peixoto has previously managed Gil Vicente and has coached exclusively in Portugal so far.
Mendes and his associate Valdir Cardoso have maintained strong ties with Wolves’ owners, Fosun, since their takeover in 2016. Those relationships once again appear decisive. As Edwards worked on reshaping the squad, the Gestifute camp were assembling a deal for Peixoto to step in before the new Championship campaign kicks off.
The timing is brutal. The decision cuts straight through the optimism generated by the arrivals of Trippier and Jiménez and leaves players, staff and supporters trying to make sense of yet another abrupt change of direction.
Wolves finished bottom of the Premier League last season after a year of churn and uncertainty. They sacked Pereira in November. They paid heavily to land Edwards. Now, on the eve of a crucial season in the Championship, they are turning again to a new man, a new idea, and a familiar powerbroker behind the scenes.
What kind of club, and what kind of team, will emerge from this latest turn is about to be tested in real time.
