Fabrizio Romano has given this transfer rumour his stamp of approval. West Ham United manager Julen Lopetegui will have already started chewing on his team’s opening run of Premier League fixtures to start his tenure off.
The Spanish tactician has already bolstered his squad with the signing of 18-year-old winger Luis Guilherme – signed from Palmeiras for £25.5m – and while the wings and sundry other positions are being targetted this month, the most pressing concern perhaps lies at the base – central defence
According to The Athletic, Nayef Aguerd is expected to leave and club captain Kurt Zouma’s future is also uncertain amid Saudi Arabian interest. Bolstering the backline is paramount.
West Ham might have taken an interest in the Brazilian market since Lopetegui replaced David Moyes in the dugout, but recent rumours suggest that the London club are now preparing to raid a divisional rival. In May, West Ham agreed a £15m deal with Brasileiro Serie A team Flamengo for the transfer of central defender Fabricio Bruno, but the move has since collapsed after a failure to agree personal terms.
This has turned Tim Steidten’s gaze toward West Ham’s immediate surroundings, with Lopetegui’s admiration for Max Kilman leading to “concrete interest”, says Fabrizio Romano.
Kilman played 24 times under Lopetegui, who previously managed Wolverhampton Wanderers, but would cost around £45m – as per talkSPORT – to bring to the capital.
While Wolves are hoping to hold onto Kilman this summer, cashing in would mark a significant profit for the Old Gold, who purchased the 27-year-old from non-league side Maidenhead United for a paltry £40,000 fee. Having amassed 151 appearances, posting three goals and three assists apiece, Kilman has been praised as a “monster” of a player by presenter Tom Parker and was even awarded the Molineux captaincy for the 2023/24 campaign.
Last season, the Wolves titan – who played every single minute in the top-flight – scored two goals, completed 86% of his passes, averaged 4.7 ball recoveries and clearances per game and won a whopping 71% of his aerial battles, as per Sofascore.
Kilman has entered the ostensible prime of his career and if West Ham can convince him that the London Stadium is the best place for him to realise his potential, things could start to move pretty quickly, with Lopetegui desperate to briing him on board.
Why Max Kilman should be signed
Kilman’s leadership qualities make for an obvious reason that bringing him in would be such a boost to a club in transition – especially if Zouma, who, frankly, won’t go down as the most inspiring and vocal captain in Irons history, is to leave for pastures new. Former West Ham midfielder Alan Devonshire called the centre-half “a leader by example”, stating that while he’s not the most garrulous of characters on the pitch, barking orders and baying at peers, he exudes authority and inspires his teammates into action.
The 68-year-old continued: “He’s not scared of communicating. You won’t see him barking orders, but I think football has moved away a little bit from the more frantic characters and now people want their leaders to be the more composed players in the team. And he fits that profile perfectly.”
Brought back under Lopetegui’s wing, Kilman could even emerge as West Ham’s best leader since Declan Rice, with the esteemed England international leaving his long-time club for Arsenal in a record £105m deal last summer.
Rice is a superlative midfielder but he was also an instrumental leader as Moyes’ squad surged toward the Europa Conference League title in 2022/23, captaining the team for the lion’s share of the term and being hailed for his “tremendous leadership qualities” by Gareth Southgate.
A ubiquitous presence in the engine room, the very lifeblood of his side’s success – be that West Ham, the Three Lions or Arsenal’s – Rice is a unique talent. But while he organises and cuts a commanding figure, he too is not the bark, bark, bark kind of leader.
Kilman, of course, is not Rice, but he does boast some of the core qualities that make a good leader on the pitch, and if Zouma is indeed to leave then this is the move to make.
