‘Long meeting’ - Wolves boss Vitor Pereira 'held talks' with West Brom & Crystal Palace

Wolves boss Vitor Pereira has revealed he has had job interviews with several Premier League clubs over the years, including with bitter local rivals West Bromwich Albion.

Pereira has only been at Molineux for just over five months but he’s already become a mightily popular figure, not only thanks to his successful results but also his infectious personality. The Portuguese has led Wolves to six successive league victories for the first time since 1970 and has won 10 of his 18 league matches overall, forming a wonderful bond with supporters.

When Pereira came in, Wanderers were 19th in the Premier League and on merely nine points from 16 games. Gary O’Neil had a tricky fixture run to contend with initially but wasn’t able to improve even when the games became more winnable. Pereira has put O’Neil to shame, put simply, steering Wolves well clear of relegation and allowing fans to dream of bigger and better things.

Admittedly, O’Neil didn’t have the powerhouse defender Emmanuel Agbadou at his disposal. Nor did he have box-to-box midfield workhorse Marshall Munetsi. But Pereira hasn’t just relied on those individuals, he’s got the team kicking as a unit – something O’Neil wasn’t able to achieve beyond his first few months with the club.

But Pereira may not have ever walked through the Molineux doors had the decisions of himself and various clubs been different in the past. The 56-year-old has revealed, in an interview with our sister publication Express & Star, that he held talks with many Premier League teams.

Vitor Pereira interviewed by West Brom and Crystal Palace

It’s quite astonishing that this is Pereira’s first venture in the Premier League when you consider he has spoken to at least six different teams over the years.

The Wolves boss has unveiled he once met with West Brom, while Crystal Palace put an offer on the table that he turned down. He was close to joining Arsenal and Everton, too, while a move to Chelsea was discussed.

“Do you know how many meetings I had here? The first one, West Bromwich, in the Premier League, maybe 15 years ago,” Pereira admitted. “The second? Everton. Third? Crystal Palace with the proposal, with the contract for two and a half years.

“After that, Chelsea, then Everton again, then Arsenal. I had a very long, very good meeting with Arsenal before they signed Arteta. Watford was the only time that I said no. I didn’t want to do it. It was the time that they were relegated.”

It’s tough to know just how close Pereira was to joining West Brom, Arsenal and Chelsea, however it would seem Everton, Crystal Palace and Watford were strongly considered. Life could have been very different had he made those moves earlier, as the dominoes of his career could have fallen in a contrasting manner.

But Pereira is a great believer in fate and feels he has discovered a home from home at Wolves. He may have only put pen to paper on his first contract in December but the club are already readying talks for a new, longer-term deal.

“I’m very happy to be here," Pereira added. “I’m very grateful to the club because they gave me the opportunity to be in the league that gives me the opportunity to be at my best level.

“It challenges me and I need to be challenged. If I go to a league and tactically, I cannot express myself, that is not for me. But in this league, I can do it.

"Maybe I was not ready before and God took care of me, and now is the time. It’s not when you want when you want it, but now is the time and this is the club.

“I felt I had something to prove to myself, of course. I want to compete with the best. But I feel confident to compete."