Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Vitor Pereira is Benfica’s first choice to become their new manager.
That’s according to Correio da Manhã, who report that Benfica president Rui Costa has made Pereira his number one choice to take change this summer.
The newspaper reports that he intends for Pereira to replace Bruno Lage at the helm of the club. This is despite recent statements stating that Lage will start the season in charge of the Portuguese club.
Mais Sport’s information is that the reality could be different. Only a superb performance at the Club World Cup would change the plans being put in place.
Costa’s desire is to ‘create another dynamic’ at the club, and also, crucially, engineer support for him ahead of presidential elections.
That’s why he’s targeting the Wolves coach, whose stock is currently high after the superb job he did at Molineux this season. He is popular at the club but it’s thought he’d be tempted by a return to Portugal with a big club and fighting in the Champions League.
He is also prioritising sporting projects over financial gains at this point in his career. The belief is that he’s set for another relegation battle with Wolves, so could be tempted away, particularly after losing Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Thus the newspaper says a return to Portugal, with Benfica, is on the horizon. We’d take that with a pinch of salt as it won’t be that easy, and we’re not happy to fully throw our trust behind Correio da Manhã just yet.
But they are making a big deal of it, so Wolves fans may wish to start preparing themselves for another high-profile exit just in case.
