As reported by Fabrizio Romano,
Earlier in the window, the Hammers had seen a bid of £25 million rejected as this ‘fell considerably short’ of Wolves’ valuation, but a deal has now been struck, with a medical set to take place soon, before official confirmation of the transfer in the coming days.
Max Kilman’s unusual route to the top
Born in London to Ukrainian parents, Kilman represented lower-division clubs Welling United, Maidenhead United and Marlow during the early years of his career, before joining Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2018.
Before making that big move, he’d also continued his futsal career, appearing for Helvécia Futsal Club in London, earning 25 caps for the England national futsal team, making him the only player to play international futsal for England and also appear in the Premier League.
The 27-year-old didn’t feature much during his first season at Wolves, as they finished seventh as a newly-promoted side, but his importance has grown incrementally season after season, making 30 appearances in 21/22, 37 the following campaign before, last year, playing every minute of all 38 Premier League games, a total of 3,420 minutes overall, one of just two outfield players to achieve this, alongside William Saliba of Arsenal.
A summer of change at West Ham United
With David Moyes’ five-year reign having come to an end in East London, and Julen Lopetegui the new man in charge, it’s likely to be a busy summer at West Ham United.
The Irons have already brought in Luis Guilherme for £25.5 million, an 18 year old winger from Palmeiras, while, less excitingly, Wes Foderingham has joined on a free from Sheffield United to bolster their goalkeeping department.
With Lucas Paquetá facing a potential ban and Mohammed Kudus in demand, the Hammers may, potentially, be very active in the market.
Either-way, this is a squad built entirely in Moyes’ image, so Lopetegui will be looking to make wholesale changes to play his way which, to put it mildly, is rather different to what supporters have seen in recent times at the London Stadium.
Lopetegui reportedly wanted to bring in Kilman, who he’d previously managed at Wolves of course, at ‘all costs’, hence why the Hammers were willing to up their offer to £40 million, making him the fourth-most expensive signing in the club’s history, behind only Sébastien Haller and the aforementioned duo Paquetá and Kudus.
