Wolves have turned to Cesar Peixoto as the new head coach on a two-year deal, with the 46-year-old stating a clear target of returning the club to the Premier League after a difficult 2025-26 campaign ended in relegation and the dismissal of Rob Edwards.
Peixoto arrives at Molineux Stadium after leaving Gil Vicente, where the head coach guided the Portuguese club to sixth place in the Primeira Liga last season, narrowly missing qualification for European competition, and now steps into a Championship project that Wolves hope will lead straight back to the top flight.
Wolves will compete in the Championship for the first time since 2018, and Peixoto has been clear that the plan is not to stay in the second tier for long, with the head coach emphasising
promotion as the central objective while also promising a style that reflects the expectations of the fanbase.
"I'm proud to be here at this big, historic club in England," Peixoto told Wolves' official club website. "It's a big opportunity for me, and I'm prepared to do everything to put Wolves where it belongs in the Premier League. We have great players, but I think the team can improve a lot with me and I can improve as a technical head coach. This is an amazing club, and it is important for me to make Wolves play in a way which reflects the fans. I want the supporters to be proud of our players, be proud of the way we play and the way we fight game after game to bring victory, and to achieve the main aim, which is to put Wolves back in the Premier League. "
Peixoto inherits a side that collected only three league wins during the 2025-26 Premier League season, the lowest total in the club’s league history, and the poor campaign ended with relegation after a run that left Wolves short in attack and struggling to convert performances into points.
The new head coachpic.twitter.com/t9rIWDSP11Wolves (@Wolves) June 15, 2026
The 2025-26 statistics underline the scale of the task, as Wolves became only the seventh club to complete a Premier League season without a single away victory, and the first team to do so since Hull City in the 2009-10 campaign, underlining why major changes were considered necessary.
Rob Edwards had been brought in as Vitor Pereira's replacement last November and was viewed internally as a long-term option despite Wolves already facing a battle near the bottom, but the head coach could not shift results enough to avoid a return to Championship football.
During Edwards' spell, Wolves won just three of 27 Premier League fixtures, losing 15 and drawing 20, with the side finding the net only 20 times in that sequence, figures that highlighted attacking issues and contributed to the board’s decision to seek a new direction with Peixoto.
Plans for life back in the Championship are already underway, with Wolves moving early in the transfer market as Kieran Trippier has signed for the club and Raul Jimenez has agreed a return for a second spell, giving Peixoto experienced players to build around while attempting a swift promotion push.
Peixoto, who now starts pre-season preparations at Molineux Stadium, faces the task of lifting confidence after relegation while installing new ideas, and the club’s leadership will judge the success of the appointment largely on whether Wolves can quickly re-establish a stable place in the Premier League.
