Vitor Pereira targets Premier League title contention after Forest and Wolves exits

Vitor Pereira has set his sights on managing a Premier League title contender, the 58-year-old Portuguese coach confirmed after departing Nottingham Forest in July 2025.

Pereira left the City Ground following a turbulent stint in which he became the club’s fourth permanent manager of the 2024/25 season, succeeding Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou and Sean Dyche. Despite the chaos, he steered Forest clear of relegation and guided them to the Europa League semi-finals before Oliver Glasner was brought in from Crystal Palace to replace him.

“My next objective is to reach a competitive level that allows me to fight for titles in the Premier League,” Pereira told A BOLA TV, as reported by Sport Witness. “Throughout my career, I’ve set goals for myself. I wanted to become a coach, and I did. I wanted to reach the top flight, and I did. I wanted to become a national champion, and I did. Then I wanted to win titles abroad, and I did.”

Pereira’s Premier League experience began at Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he succeeded Gary O’Neil in charge of a side deep in relegation trouble. He quickly won over the Molineux faithful and guided Wolves to safety, earning a new contract in September 2025. However, he was sacked in November as Wolves slid back toward the Championship, with Rob Edwards eventually taking over — though Edwards too was dismissed at the end of the season.

Before arriving in England, Pereira accumulated an unusually broad managerial CV spanning Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Greece, Turkey, Germany, China and Brazil, where he managed both Corinthians and Flamengo. He won league titles with Porto in Portugal, Olympiacos in Greece and Shanghai Port in China.

Currently without a club, Pereira’s ambition to compete for Premier League honours represents a significant step up from the firefighting roles he has held in England so far. Whether a top-four club will take a chance on a manager whose domestic experience has been confined to survival battles remains to be seen.