Dave Edwards: Recruitment key if Cesar Peixoto is to grasp his chance at Wolves

Peixoto certainly said a lot of promising things, in terms of how he wants to play, yet it will only be backed up once supporters see those performances on the pitch.

He sounded like he really wanted to be at Molineux and will give his absolute all.

It is clearly a very important moment in his career. From where he has been, to get this opportunity in the Championship at Wolves, he’ll feel this could be the making of him.

The past week has provided a bit of time for everyone to take a closer look at Peixoto’s history and in my view, there are reasons to believe he and Wolves could be a good fit.

At 46, he is only a young man but this will be his ninth job and the first outside Portugal, where he spent almost his entire playing career as well.

Part of that was under Jose Mourinho in the Porto squad which won the Champions League in what was a turning point in Portuguese football and coaching philosophy. It should have given Peixoto an insight into what is like to be at the very top and what is needed.

While his own record as a manager isn’t great on paper to this point, he really came to the fore in his last job at Gil Vicente, keeping them up at the end of the first season and then going on to finish sixth last term.

That followed an excellent start which saw them flying near the top of the table. Though they faded, they also lost some key players and the bottom line is he had the club massively punching above its weight.

The positive thing is they weren’t doing it by playing a counter-attacking style but instead with a possession-based approach, being patient on the ball. That should fit well at Wolves in the Championship, where they should be one of the superior teams.

In Peixoto’s 4-2-3-1 system it is the three players behind the striker who are the difference-makers.

We saw the last time Wolves played in the Championship how important the forward players were. You need a player who is going to score 20 goals and others around to net 10 to 15.

This is an area where Wolves already have talent, the likes of Mateus Mane, Adam Armstrong, Rodrigo Gomes and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.

But I do think what they do in the transfer window in those positions will be key. You imagine Jorde Mendes will be more involved in the recruitment process moving forward and we have seen some incredible players come to the club from his stable over the years. That could be very valuable to Wolves.

There should be a lot of hope, if they do get it right from a recruitment standpoint, that Peixoto can deliver a winning team.

The transfer market was always going to be key. The team which finished the season for Wolves in the Premier League is not one I believe could win the Championship outright. I don’t think the culture seemed right, so a lot of work will need to be done.

There are so many questions. What type of player are they going for? How big are they going to go?

Fosun made a real statement in 2017 when they brought in Diogo Jota and Ruben Neves, then when they got to the Premier League signing Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio.

Will they go to those lengths? Or will it be a bit more reserved, like the first summer with Helder Costa and Ivan Cavaleiro and a few younger players. Not all of those signings worked.

We will get an insight soon, as we start to see players getting announced but the whole culture and the team needs a big overhaul this summer if Wolves are to be successful.