Three Wolves players who will surely benefit after Vitor Pereira sack include £15m star
Wolves’ embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Fulham on Saturday spelt the end of Vitor Pereira’s tenure at Molineux.
Wolves sacked Pereira on Sunday (November 2) after taking just two points from a possible 30 in the Premier League.
The Portuguese boss was placed under immense pressure for a while, making Wolves’ decision to give Pereira a three-year contract in September all the more baffling.
So, with the Old Gold cut adrift by eight points in the top flight, whoever replaces the 57-year-old has a huge task on their hands to keep them up. Football Insider looks at three players who could benefit from his dismissal.
Andre
A major reason Wolves survived in the Premier League last term was the incredible midfield partnership of Andre and Joao Gomes.
While Gomes was a ball-winning beast, Andre dictated play with his impressive passing range, and those attributes gave them the platform to win matches.
Unfortunately, Pereira has often broken the Brazilian duo up and instead played the likes of Ladislav Krejci, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Marshall Munetsi in the middle of the park.
That was the case against Fulham as he left Gomes on the bench with Andre, and that was a call that proved how out of depth the manager is.
So, whoever takes over from Pereira at Molineux will surely realise Andre’s importance in rescuing their season.
Joao Gomes
Already mentioned in the discussion around Andre, Gomes is another who will benefit from Pereira’s sacking.
The 24-year-old is regarded as one of the Premier League’s best ball winners, yet during their battle against relegation, the Brazilian international has been sacrificed.
Gomes dropped to the bench in defeats to Burnley and Fulham as his relationship with Pereira was put under the spotlight.
Wolves signed Gomes for £15million from Flamengo in January 2023 and is arguably the club’s best central midfield option alongside Andre.
That is why a new manager coming in can improve his fortunes.
Hwang Hee-chan
Hwang Hee-chan’s decline has been sad to watch. The South Korean went from scoring 12 Premier League goals in 2023/24 to barely even starting matches.
Hwang’s preferred position is as a striker, and since Jorgen Strand Larsen was preferred and Pereira’s system didn’t use two centre forwards, the 29-year-old was forced into a sporadic role.
On his day, Hwang’s pace and clinical finishing can be a useful weapon in their battle to stay up, but unfortunately, his confidence has been completely knocked in the past year or so.
Though with Pereira now gone, the former RB Leipzig man will hope he can get back to his best under someone else.