Wolverhampton Wanderers have sacked Rob Edwards and are set to hire Gil Vicente head coach Cesar Peixoto.The timing of the move comes as a surprise, with Edwards involved in the social media announcement video for striker Raul Jimenez’s return to Molineux on Tuesday.Edwards joined the club from Middlesbrough — who were contending for promotion in the Championship — in November, but was unable to prevent their relegation to the Championship in April ending eight consecutive seasons in the Premier League. The club finished bottom of the table, 21 points from safety.Wolves won their first Premier League match of the season under the 43-year-old in January but picked up only two more victories after that, ending the campaign on a nine-match winless run.In May, Edwards said that Wolves’ struggles were “not his fault” and that it was “a thing that’s been going on for a long time”, though he added that he felt “energised by what we’re going to be able to do and the difference that we’re going to make going forward”.
In an interview following the end of the season, Edwards was asked about looking forward to 2026-27.“I hope we’ll be getting a winning team, a team that the fans can get behind, because, ultimately, everyone wants a winning team,” he said. “We’re six months in now and it was always going to take a bit of time to get there, but we knew that when we came in, so if we can start well next season, I think there’ll be a great feeling around the club once again.”Peixoto is now set to replace Edwards. The 46-year-old led Gil Vicente to a sixth-place finish in the Primeira Liga last season, the top flight of Portuguese football.Peixoto oversaw a strong run of form to end the season (Miguel Riopa/AFP via Getty ImagesHe has held multiple head coaching roles since retiring as a player in 2019, all in his homeland of Portugal, with his spell with Gil Vicente being the longest he has been in charge of any club. He was hired in March last year, steering the club away from relegation and overseeing a 13th-place finish in the 2025-26 campaign. The previous longest stint he had with a team was 10 months with Pacos Ferreira.As a player, Peixoto appeared for the likes of Porto, Braga and Benfica and was capped once by Portugal in 2008.What could Peixoto bring to Wolves?Analysis by Guillermo RaiWhile Gil Vicente are a relatively modest and little-known Primeira Liga club, Peixoto has emerged as one of the most promising coaches in Portuguese football.His attractive, attack-minded style of play has allowed the team to compete with clubs boasting significantly larger budgets, including a 2-1 victory over Braga and a 1-1 draw against Sporting CP.That strong run of form lifted Gil Vicente to sixth place with 50 points, which is also why Peixoto was among those vying for the Benfica job following Jose Mourinho’s departure at the end of the season.If appointed, Peixoto is expected to bring several members of his Gil Vicente coaching staff to Wolverhampton. The group is relatively young, with many of its members in their thirties, and will now look to establish themselves in English football.
