Sources: Jorge Mendes role in Rob Edwards sacking revealed as Wolves compensation revealed

Wolves are still paying Rob Edwards in full two months after he was sacked, sources have told Football Insider.

Jorge Mendes is thought to have had a big say in the decision to dismiss the 43-year-old and appoint Cesar Peixoto, who is represented by the Portuguese super-agent and his agency GestiFute.

Edwards was unexpectedly sacked in June after 11 months in charge, despite Wolves having publicly backed the manager before bringing in two new signings.

Kieran Trippier and Raul Jimenez had both already arrived on free transfers, with the former reportedly having re-considered his future when the news about Edwards emerged.

Edwards is yet to return to a managerial post, and turned down an approach from Championship side Burnley in June.

Peixoto oversaw a positive pre-season with Wolves, who opened the season with a win over Port Vale in the Carabao Cup before they were held by Blackburn Rovers at Molineux on Friday.

Jorge Mendes links to Wolves continue

Wolves' connection with Mendes began when Fosun bought the club from Steve Morgan in 2016.

Shortly after, the likes of Helder Costa and Ivan Caveleiro began to arrive at Molineux, with new manager Nuno Espirito Santo taking over in 2017.

The following summer, Diogo Jota and Ruben Neves arrived, Rui Patricio and Joao Moutinho after that. PSG superstar Vitinha even spent a season on loan with Wolves.

All were clients of Mendes, and the link does not stop there, with the agent even having facilitated moves for players with different representation.

The EFL conducted a review into the arrangement in 2018, but ultimately found that Mendes held no official role within Wolves and was not subject to any further scrutiny.

While the link appears to have weakened in recent years, the appointment of Peixoto has re-proven its prevalence.

How Kieran Trippier reacted to Rob Edwards' sacking

The sacking of Edwards was a massive shock to everyone, even the manager himself, who reportedly found out by looking at social media.

Trippier, who has been a player for the club a mere matter of days, was left puzzled by the sudden decision.

"I’m not going to sit here and lie, I wasn’t expecting it,” he told The Guardian. “But it’s the club’s decision. I had good chats with Rob, of course, but I’m here to play for Wolves. There are many surprises in football and that certainly was a surprise, I’m not going to deny that.

"But I just cracked on, I was with my kids on holiday, training in Mallorca and just looking forward to day one in pre-season. I’ve read it all: that I was looking to rip my contract up, and all this nonsense.

"I was just looking forward to reporting back to Wolves. I don’t know where it even came from to be honest, that I was looking to rip my contract up – it certainly didn’t come from me, otherwise you would have heard it from me, that’s just the player that I am.”