Wolves are looking for a new boss after Bruno Lage departed with the club in the Premier League relegation zone following just one win in their first eight matches this season.
Lage took the reins from fellow Portuguese Nuno Espirito Santo in June 2021 and oversaw a 10th-place finish last season, but Wolves have acted after a run of nine defeats in their last 15 fixtures.
Here, the PA news agency looks at who could be primed to take over.
Pedro Martins
An early favourite, who if appointed would be Wolves’ third successive Portuguese boss. A former midfielder who played for Sporting Lisbon in the mid-to-late 1990s, the 52-year-old has managed several clubs in Portugal but got his big break with Olympiacos four years ago. He helped the Greek club to three league titles but while he signed a two-year extension in January, he was sacked in August shortly after a chastening 4-0 defeat to Israeli club Maccabi Haifa in a Champions League qualifier.
Ruben Amorim
Another Portuguese who is renowned for his 3-4-3 preference, similar to what Nuno and then Lage employed for large parts of their reigns at Wolves. Amorim has had a transformative impact at Sporting, who won their first league title in nearly 20 years in the 2019-20 season under the former Benfica midfielder. And they made it a double by winning the cup in that campaign. Last season, the 37-year-old oversaw the club’s run to the last 16 of the Champions League for only the second time in their history.
Sergio Conceicao
It is perhaps no surprise that there is a Portuguese flavour to the list of early contenders for the role, considering the size of the contingent from there already at Molineux. Paulo Fonseca has also been linked with the post but while he has just taken up a job at Lille, his former team-mate at Porto Conceicao, who manages the Portuguese giants, could be in contention. Conceicao, 47, has led Porto to three league titles in his five seasons since succeeding Nuno, who left to join Wolves in May 2017.
Julen Lopetegui
Lopetegui has been courted by Wolves owners Fosun in the past, most notably ahead of their takeover in 2016, but he opted to take charge of his native Spain on the same day the takeover was completed. His two-year tenure there ended acrimoniously while he lasted just four months at Real Madrid but the ex-goalkeeper has rebuilt his reputation at Sevilla. Under the 56-year-old, Sevilla won the 2019-20 Europa League, beating Wolves en route, while they have had a hat-trick of fourth-place finishes in LaLiga.
Others
Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou is an attractive option after helping the Hoops regain the Scottish league title last season, although whether he would leave Glasgow remains to be seen. Sean Dyche’s star has been undimmed by his sacking at Burnley and his name is likely to be linked in the next few months whenever an English top-flight – or even top-end Championship – vacancy springs up. Andre Villas-Boas, Leanardo Jardim and Rafael Benitez have been touted but seem more unlikely candidates at this stage.
