With the summer transfer window officially opening, West Ham United and new manager Julen Lopetegui will now begin to seek for fresh meat, in hopes of improving this already thrilling West Ham team in order for them to reach the top spots this coming season in the Premier League, whilst hopefully going far in other respective competitions.
As the rumours begin to circulate, the Hammers are desperate to add to their list of summer signings after successfully recruiting Brazilian wonderkid Luis Guilherme from Palmeiras, in hopes that the teen will add depth to their attack and compete with the likes of Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen for a place in the starting eleven.
However, whilst keen in improving their attack, the Irons seek improvement in the defensive part of their team, after displaying many lacklustre performances last season where in total they conceded 74 goals in the Premier League - only Burnley, Luton Town and Sheffield United conceded more.
One defender that is highly admired by Lopetegui is his former player and captain Max Kilman from Wolves, who was crucial during his reign at the Molineux.
With experienced Angelo Ogbonna’s recent departure, Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd also look likely to leave the club due to recent poor performances. These potential departures can only spur the club on to shape up their defence and bring in fresh faces, with Kilman being the main target.
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Max Kilman: A background
Max Kilman is a 27-year-old English defender who is currently captain of Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he has put in many solid performances at the back as of late with his first international call up surely being imminent.
Kilman began his footballing journey in Fulham’s academy at a young age where later in his career, he’d join Maidenhead United in 2015 before spending a short time on loan at Marlow in 2016.
Once returning from his season long loan, the English defender made his debut for Maidenhead in 2017 where he made 39 appearances for the Magpies until finally signing for Wolves in 2018 for a fee in the region of around £40,000.
During his first season in the midlands, fresh-faced Max Kilman spent his time playing for Wolves U21 and proving himself to Nuno Espírito Santo in 2019, when he was deservedly promoted to the first team and awarded his senior debut against Fulham in the dying seconds of the game.
Four years later in August of 2023, the now-experienced English centre-half had become a regular in Wolves’ starting XI, and was appointed club captain by Lopetegui, whilst also signing a contract extension to confirm his stay in black and gold for five more years.
However, this doesn’t prevent any interest from any other clubs as both Newcastle United and West Ham are currently monitoring the talented defender in hopes of making him one of their own this summer.
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Bidding War
As the Hammers have become more eager in getting Max Kilman’s signature in the recent weeks, they have had to compete with Geordie giants Newcastle as they also look into purchasing reinforcements for their backline, as they suffered with frequent injuries over the 2023/24 season, thinning down their tattered and sometimes even inexperienced defence.
It is understood that over the weekend, Newcastle had made a player-plus-cash bid, though the Black Country club were not amused and rejected this offer, instead turning their attention to West Ham’s keen interest.
Unfortunately for the Hammers, Wolves have not made this deal easy for them as a £25 million bid was rejected, later followed by a second bid of £35 million + a player within the deal. Wolves have stated that they value their skipper at a whopping £45 million price tag and they will not amuse any offers unless they meet their valuation.
Although the price is high, the Hammers are reportedly preparing a third bid of roughly £40 million.
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How does Kilman fit West Ham?
Coming off from a very poor season defensively, new manager Julen Lopetegui will intend to fix how West Ham control the ball whilst also ensuring that they play correctly and calmly when out of possession.
With recent questions being asked on Kurt Zouma’s leadership as current captain of West Ham, Max Kilman has been praised for his “back line authority” as he currently wears the captains armband for Wolves. Therefore, bringing in a natural leader may help benefit West Ham and help to create a commanding the back line - something that the Irons have lacked since the departure of Declan Rice last season.
Finally, another issue that may be resolved by the introduction of Max Kilman is the Hammers attacking threat. Throughout the entirety of last season, West Ham were criticised on their desire to get up the pitch and put the opponent under pressure, with many people blaming David Moyes and his defensive style of play.
However, Kilman frequently looks to progress play, often with progressive passes towards more capable players in central areas whilst also having a knack for the occasional dribble and long balls up the pitch, which should encourage more attacking football whilst putting the opposing teams under pressure.
Additionally, he has also proven as of late that he is capable of bringing goals to the equation, as he scored twice last season for Wolves whilst also having a late equaliser against West Ham at The Molineux wrongfully disallowed by VAR back in April this year.
Max Kilman would likely be an exciting addition to this West Ham squad, proving his defensive capabilities, leadership skills and much needed improvement to the Hammers shaky defence.
Unfortunately for West Ham, in the modern day of football, homegrown players are not cheap and West Ham would have to offer a significant amount of money to tempt the Englishman to move to Stratford, though if Lopetegui can get his man, it could prove crucial to West Ham's season.
