Shropshire Star

Wolves consider move for Pedro Martins

Wolves are considering a move to appoint Pedro Martins as their next head coach, the Express & Star understands.

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Pedro Martins. Picture: John Walton/PA Wire.

The 52-year-old has previously managed a handful of clubs including Portuguese sides Maritimo, Rio Ave and Vitoria Guimaraes, as well as Greek side Olympiacos.

Martins, a former midfielder and Portugal international, joined Olympiacos in 2018 and won the league three times in his four seasons. He also won the Greek Cup once.

Despite signing a two-year extension to his deal and winning the league last season, Martins was ruthlessly sacked by Olympiacos in August after an embarrassing 4-0 home loss to Maccabi Haifa in a Champions League qualifier.

Now, the Express & Star understands Wolves are considering a move to make him their next head coach after Bruno Lage was sacked.

As well as being a compatriot of several of Wolves’ players, Martins has also worked with a number of the squad in the past.

He also managed both Daniel Podence and Jose Sa during their time at Olympiacos and will be familiar with most of the Wolves squad. In addition, it is believed Martins is interested in the move after recently turning down advances from Championship club Hull.

Martins has links to Jorge Mendes’ agency Gestifute, who have close ties to Wolves, meaning any deal to bring Martins to Molineux would be relatively straightforward.

However, there are also a number of other names in the mix.

Reports suggest that Wolves are also interested in Sporting manager Ruben Amorim. The 37-year-old is a highly-rated young coach who won the Primeira Liga in 2020/21 during his first full season with Sporting – handing the club their first title win in 19 years.

He has a deal with Sporting until 2024, so any move for him could be costly for Wolves.

Julen Lopetegui is also being linked as he remains on the brink of being sacked by Sevilla.

The Spaniard almost joined Wolves in 2016 as Fosun’s first appointment since buying the club, but he turned them down for the Spain job. He has since managed Spanish giants Real Madrid before joining Sevilla in 2019.

Lopetegui also has a deal until 2024, meaning he would need to be sacked by Sevilla for Wolves to avoid paying for his signature. Reports suggest he could depart the Spanish club this week.

If Wolves are unable to find Lage’s successor in time, academy coaches James Collins and Steve Davis will be in charge for the trip to Chelsea this weekend.