Wolverhampton Wanderers have axed manager Vitor Pereira with the club languishing at the bottom of the Premier League table - and are lining up a surprising possible successor. The decision arrives just weeks after Pereira, 57, was awarded a fresh three-year deal. Saturday's woeful 3-0 defeat at Fulham proved the final nail in the coffin, leaving Wolves marooned at the foot of the table without a single victory from their opening 10 fixtures.

Pereira rang the changes with nine alterations to his starting XI from the team that crashed out to Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, yet they failed to spark a triumph at Craven Cottage. Wolves battled with 10 men for more than half the match following Emmanuel Agbadou's 36th-minute dismissal, though they were already trailing 1-0 at that point. Harry Wilson then doubled Ryan Sessegnon's early strike before a Yerson Mosquera own goal sealed the comprehensive defeat and ended Pereira's 11-month tenure.

Wolves executive chairman Jeff Shi remarked: "Vitor and his team worked tirelessly for Wolves and helped guide us through a challenging period last season, for which we are grateful.

"Unfortunately, the start to this season...