Vitor Pereira publicly savaged him at Wolves, now he just scored Champions League brace
Wolves are in dire straits at the bottom of the Premier League, and to make matters worse, Vitor Pereira may have been wrong about one player.
Pereira was sacked on Sunday (November 2) after Wolves were beaten by Fulham 3-0, condemning the Old Gold to their eighth defeat in 10 matches.
The hunt has now begun for Fosun and Jeff Shi to appoint Pereira’s successor, with Middlesbrough boss Rob Edwards rejecting Wolves as it stands.
Wolves need miracles to stay in the Premier League, as they’re currently eight points adrift of safety, although it’s something Pereira achieved last term.
The 57-year-old took charge of the Wanderers in December 2024 after Gary O’Neil left them in the relegation zone, and he made some crucial decisions.
Vitor Pereira said Carlos Forbs wasn’t good enough
Wolves signed Carlos Forbs on loan in the 2024 summer transfer window, while holding an option to buy the winger for £11.7million.
Forbs was seen as a possible replacement for Pedro Neto, who joined Chelsea in the same window, yet he didn’t live up to expectations.
The 21-year-old didn’t fit into Pereira’s system and only played 260 minutes across 11 matches in all competitions.
When explaining why Forbs didn’t play much for the Old Gold, Pereira essentially admitted that he wasn’t good enough by stating ‘he doesn’t have these skills’.
“He must go back to Ajax and after we’ll see,” he told the E&S in May. “As I explained before, Carlos is a winger but to play in 4-3-3.
“He’s a winger, one against one. To do what I want in this system is difficult for him when we are defending. He doesn’t have the skill to go and come back to defend, it’s difficult.
“It’s not about his quality because he has quality, he’s strong one against one, he’s very fast. But in my system he cannot play inside in between the lines because he doesn’t have these skills. And to play outside is a different profile of player.”
Wolves snubbed the chance to sign Forbs permanently for £11.7m, and he’s since gone on to achieve bigger and better things elsewhere.
Forbs scores brace against Barcelona
After being rejected by the Wanderers, the former Manchester City gem was snapped up by Champions League outfit Club Brugge, and he’s made a bright start to life in Belgium.
Alongside two goals and three assists in 11 Pro League appearances, the youngster has also shown his qualities in Europe’s elite competition by scoring an incredible brace against Barcelona while assisting Nicolo Tresoldi.
Forbs took advantage of Barcelona’s high line on multiple occasions to earn his side a deserved 3-3 draw.
It’s a moment that the Portuguese starlet will always remember as he truly announced himself on the big stage and also showed Wolves what they could have had.