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Vitor Pereira actually saved Wolves £11.3m with decision made before 1-0 win over West Ham

Wolves have practically secured Premier League survival with eight games to go.

Vitor Pereira steered the Old Gold to a 1-0 win over West Ham on Tuesday night, a result which leaves Wolves 12 points ahead of Ipswich.

The Tractor Boys do have a game in hand, but seeing as Kieran McKenna has only accumulated 17 points from 29 outings this season, it feels unlikely Ipswich will take 12 points from nine – which would only be enough to secure survival if Wolves failed to win another point this term.

Position Team Played MP Won W Drawn D Lost L For GF Against GA Diff GD Points Pts
17 WolvesWolves30 8 5 17 41 58 -17 29
18 IpswichIpswich29 3 8 18 28 62 -34 17
19 LeicesterLeicester29 4 5 20 25 65 -40 17
20 SouthamptonSouthampton29 2 3 24 21 70 -49 9

17th place in the Premier League secured Nottingham Forest a sum of £12.5m last season – so you would presume Wolves will get the same if they finish 17th – but regardless of prize money, Pereira definitely saved the Old Gold £11.3m by leaving Carlos Forbs on the bench against West Ham.

How Carlos Forbs decision saved Wolves £11.3m

A story from has now revealed details of the loan agreement between Wolves and Ajax for the Portugal U21 international.

It is said that Wolves would have needed to pay Ajax €13.5m (£11.3m) if Forbs started ten Premier League games this season – which would have triggered a clause for the winger to move to Molineux on a permanent basis this summer.

Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images

However – after Pereira left the Wolves No.26 on the sidelines against West Ham – it is now impossible for him to reach ten Premier League starts this season.

Forbs – who Manchester City sold – has only started one Premier League game this term, so with just eight matches left to play, he can only make a maximum of nine Premier League starts, meaning Wolves are safe from triggering the purchase clause.

To make matters worse for the 21-year-old, Francesco Farioli has Ajax sitting nine points clear at the top of the Eredivisie, so he could have become a title winner had he stayed in Amsterdam.

Wolves may need to put £11.3m sum towards Matheus Cunha replacement

Matheus Cunha confirmed he would like to leave Wolves in a chat with the Guardian last week.

The Brazil international said: “I’ve made it clear that I need to take the next step. I want to fight for titles, for big things. I have potential.”

Arsenal are keen to sign Cunha – along with Nottingham Forest – after a £62.5m release clause was inserted into the new contract he signed in February, which is a fair asking price for a player with 15 goals in 29 games this season.

Therefore, the £11.3m saved from not buying Forbs could need to be put towards a replacement for the South American.