According to Football Insider, Wolverhampton Wanderers have set the price tag for Max Kilman at £45m after rejecting West Ham United’s opening £25m bid.
West Ham United are entering a new chapter this summer with the arrival of Julen Lopetegui and a strong summer transfer window could be exactly what is needed to start positively next season.
David Moyes managed his final season with the Hammers ending their Premier League campaign in ninth after a struggle to dominate both domestically and on the European stage, failing to qualify for Europe in the race for spots in the final fixtures of the season.
Now it will be up to Lopetegui to refresh and revive the East London outfit with a different style of football and the opportunity to solely focus on domestic football for the next 12 months.
In terms of signings, Brazilian wonderkid Luis Guilherme became the first secured for the Spaniard and now it is looking like the former Wolverhampton Wanderers boss is attempting to raid his old club for talent.
It was reported by Telegraph journalist John Percy on Friday that the Hammers had made a – since rejected – £25m bid for centre-back Max Kilman, he revealed on Twitter:
“New – West Ham have made their first move for #Wolves defender Max Kilman with a bid of around £25m. Opening offer likely to be rejected. Julen Lopetegui very keen to sign the player he made captain at Wolves #wwfc #whufc”
Today, Football Insider is reporting that Wolves have responded to West Ham’s interest, but are demanding a whopping £45m to part ways with Kilman this summer.
As per the news outlet, the Midlands club have absolutely no desire to sell their captain who is part of Gary O’Neil’s plans for next season, however, it would be hard to ignore a bid of £45m – which is where Wolves currently value Kilman at.
Will West Ham sign Max Kilman?
There is no doubt that the defensive performances displayed last season played a huge part in West Ham’s failure to not only maintain their European status, but to see out games comfortably when attacking play had been perfectly executed by the likes of Jarrod Bowen and Mohamed Kudus.
It definitely feels there is dissonance between the amount of quality in the attacking personnel and the lack of quality in the defensive line which was a huge detriment to Moyes’ last season in charge.
As a result, the signing of Kilman would be a huge statement of Lopetegui’s intent to not only bring in players he has worked with and believes in, but to improve the unbalance of quality at opposite ends of the pitch to develop more harmony.
When comparing the Wolves skipper to his position competitor Nayef Aguerd, it is clear that Kilman has outperformed the West Ham titan with a higher pass completion rate (85.7% v 80.1%), more shot-creating actions per 90 (1.03 v 0.68), more clearances (182 v 85), more ball recoveries (177 v 102) and a higher percentage of aerial duels won (70.5% v 60%), as per FBref.
Not only that, Kilman played every single game in the Premier League last season which is a huge boost for availability if the Irons pull off a deal, as injuries in the backline also caused a number of selection issues.
With that being said, the signing of Kilman would be an incredible deal for the Hammers if they could meet Wolves’ asking price, as the centre-back would be an ideal leader and an undeniable upgrade in the centre-back role.
