Wolves have appointed Vitor Pereira as their new head coach following the sacking of Gary O'Neil.
Pereira has signed a one-and-a-half-year contract after his departure was negotiated with compensation of just over £800,000 with Saudi Pro League club Al Shabab.
The 56-year-old attended training on Thursday and will lead the crunch visit to Leicester on Sunday.
Wolves chairman Jeff Shi said: “We are delighted to welcome Vitor Pereira to Wolves as the new head coach of our first men's team.
“Vitor is a highly respected and experienced coach who has achieved success in several competitions and will bring a new approach to the upcoming Test.
“This is a challenging moment for the club and we would like to thank Vitor for taking on this responsibility.
“We have full confidence in his ability to get us back on track, together with the players and staff, and the entire club will be united in supporting him to achieve success.”
O'Neil was suspended on Sunday following a dramatic 2-1 defeat to Ipswich at Molineux on Saturday, which was followed by a scuffle that saw Rayan Ait-Nouri withdraw from the field and Matheus Cunha charged with misconduct by the FA.
That result leaves Wolves in 19th place in the Premier League – five points behind 17th-placed Leicester, who they play away to on Sunday.
Sky Sports News was told that Wolves were keen to pay Pereira's release clause and the 56-year-old, who has won league titles in three different countries in Porto, Olympiacos and Shanghai, was keen on a move to Molineux.
Pereira – who had been in charge of Al Shabab since February – was linked with the Everton job in early 2022, but Toffees fans made their opposition clear with protests and Frank Lampard was appointed instead.
Analysis: Who is Vitor Pereira?
Sky Sports features writer Adam Bate:
Pereira's appointment from Wolves brings the number of jobs the Portuguese coach has taken on since leaving Porto in 2013 into double figures. Ten years ago, Pereira was briefly regarded as one of the brightest coaching prospects in Europe.
His performances in Porto are worth repeating. He won the title in each of his two seasons and inherited a team that had gone undefeated by becoming champions under Andre Villas-Boas. Pereira's final season was particularly impressive as Porto were once again undefeated.
He was a title winner with Olympiacos in Greece and won the Chinese Super League during his time in Shanghai, but there was also a chaotic period in charge of Fenerbahce and a doomed attempt to regain Munich's status in Germany's second division in 1860 to keep.
Having also spent more than a year in Brazil, where he worked at two big clubs in Corinthians and Flamengo, Pereira has a good reputation, but there is also a risk regarding his qualifications, as this is his first job in one of the five major leagues in Europe.
There are elements that work in his favor. Wolves have a history of Portuguese coaches being promoted to the Premier League under Nuno Espirito Santo and achieving top-half finishes under both Nuno and his successor Bruno Lage.
The composition of the Wolves team continues to reflect that influence. No fewer than eight members of the squad for O'Neil's final match against Ipswich speak Portuguese as a first language and that does not include suspended Brazil international Joao Gomes.
Some of them are key figures within the group, the ones Pereira will need if he is to improve Wolves' fortunes. Nelson Semedo is now the team captain. Cunha is the undisputed star player. Improving Andre's form could be crucial.
The problem for Pereira is that he has to act quickly. Defeat to Leicester in the next match would leave Wolves seven points behind a team they will definitely need to overtake if they want to stay up. If he wants to succeed, he must instill discipline and offer hope.
Wolves' next six games in the Premier League
Leicester (a) – December 22, 2 p.m
Man Utd (u) – December 26, 5:30 PM
Tottenham (a) – December 29, 3:00 PM
Nottingham Forest (u) – January 6, 8pm – Live on Sky Sports
Newcastle (a) – January 15, 7:30 pm
Chelsea (a) – January 20, 8pm – Live on Sky Sports
What happened at Everton?
Pereira was set to become Everton manager in January 2022 and even went so far as to speak to Sky Sports News in an attempt to stave off fan protests over his expected appointment. Ultimately, the Toffees opted to go for Lampard.
“It was him or Lampard,” Sky Sports' News journalist Alan Myers explained. “I think the fans liked Lampard more than him. They wanted Pereira out but he wasn't even in!” But for a while it looked like Pereira had managed to convince Everton's hierarchy.
“He had an interview with Bill Kenwright and Bill was enthusiastic about it. He didn't think he was right about it at first and ended up voting for Frank Lampard, but I remember he called me and said this was the most enthusiastic, inspiring person you could ever meet.
“Bill said he was impeccable, you could have eaten dinner out of his suit. He was completely blown away. I thought at the time he was going to get the job. The board vote was ultimately unanimous in Lampard's favor, but he was close. There was some serious thinking going on.
“He had success at Porto and built his career on that, winning a few things, but since then he has had more clubs than Jack Nicklaus. He is certainly a character who will light up the Premier League in many ways. He will not last .” back into whatever he says.”
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