Wolverhampton Wanderers fired Vitor Pereira on Sunday, following the club’s 10-game winless start to the 2025-26 Premier League season, and multiple reports now say that they are in talks with Gary O’Neil about returning as manager.
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O’Neil was fired as Wolves boss last November and replaced by Pereira, and the English coach has been out of work ever since but did a really good job at both Bournemouth and Wolves in testing circumstances to comfortably keep them both in the Premier League.
Both the BBC and The Athletic are both reporting that O’Neil has held talks with Wolves about a pretty incredible return as manager, with the BBC saying the talks were positive, while Rob Edwards, Erik ten Hag and Michael Carrick have also been mentioned as potential replacements for Pereira.
Whoever takes charge of Wolves has one heck of a scrap on their hands to keep them in the Premier League this season.
Where did it go wrong for Pereira?
Pereira signed a new three-year contract less than two months ago, four games into the season, but the Portuguese has now gone after Wolves’ 3-0 defeat to Fulham on Saturday.
Wolves currently sit last in the PL table, with just two points and goal difference of -15 — eight points away from safety. Pereira came up six weeks shy of a year in the job, but the job that Pereira did in his first six months at Wolves was close to a miracle.
Wolves also went winless in their first 10 games last season (three points) under Gary O’Neill and the side had just two wins from 16 games before Pereira took charge on Dec. 19. They won 10 of their final 22 games and finished 17 points above the relegation zone in the end.
Wolves’ club statement following Vitor Pereira’s sacking
“Upon his arrival at Molineux last December, Pereira and his coaches made an immediate impact, guiding the team to a successful second half of the Premier League campaign.
“However, results and performances this term have fallen below acceptable standards, and as a result a change in leadership was deemed necessary.
“All eight of Pereira’s backroom staff have also left the club.”
