Wolverhampton Wanderers have confirmed that Vitor Pereira has become their new head coach.
On Sunday afternoon, the West Midlands outfit announced that they had parted ways with Gary O'Neil after just nine points were collected from 16 matches in the Premier League.
Within hours of the Englishman's departure, it was widely claimed that Al-Shabab boss Pereira had been identified as Fosun international's preferred replacement.
Possessing an attainable release clause in his contract believed to be in the region of £1m, Pereira quickly decided to make the switch to Molineux, allowing for the relevant parties to complete the necessary paperwork.
On Thursday afternoon, Wolves were able to formally confirm that the 56-year-old had become their next manager on an 18-month contract, his reign due to begin with Sunday's potentially-pivotal Premier League fixture at Leicester City.
Welcome to Wolves, Vitor 🤝
— Wolves (@Wolves) December 19, 2024
How long is Pereira's contract?
As per reports, Wolves have agreed an 18-month deal with Pereira, who is tasked with saving the club from relegation to the Championship.
Chairman Jeff Shi told the club's official website: "We are delighted to welcome Vitor Pereira to Wolves as the new head coach of our men's first-team.
"Vitor is a highly respected and experienced coach who has achieved success across different leagues and will bring a new approach for the test ahead.
"This is a challenging moment for the club, and we want to thank Vitor for taking on this responsibility. We have full confidence in his ability to guide us back on track, alongside the players and staff, and the entire club will be united in supporting him to achieve success."
Sporting director Matt Hobbs added: "Vitor is a highly experienced and accomplished head coach who has demonstrated his ability to succeed at the highest level. His personality, desire and leadership qualities stood out to us during this process, and we're excited to see how he applies his expertise here at Wolves.
"I'm looking forward to working closely with Vitor and his team on a daily basis, supporting them in every way possible - from getting the maximum out of our staff at Compton, to recruitment in the upcoming transfer window - as we work together to strengthen the squad and achieve our collective goals."
© Imago
Wolves relying on Pereira experience
Pereira may arrive at Molineux with 642 matches and four league titles under his belt, but his managerial career has been spread across 13 clubs and seven different countries.
His most notable success came with Porto between 2011 and 2013, securing four pieces of silverware, before he lifted the Greek top-flight title with Olympiacos in 2015.
Since then, though, he has spent only 107 matches with European clubs, spread across spells two spells with Fenerbahce and German side 1860 Munich.
Time was spent in the dugouts of Chinese outfit Shanghai SIPG and Brazilian giants Corinthians and Flamengo before his most recent post at Al-Shabab.
Sixteen wins and 10 defeats came from 30 matches with the Saudi Pro League team, who currently sit in sixth position in the table after 13 games.
Darren Plant
