Gary O’Neil has made an interesting claim about Max Kilman following his tremendous start to the season for Wolves.
Gary O’Neil deserves an abundance of credit for the job he’s done at Wolves.
Not only has he dragged the Old Gold towards the brink of Europe, but he’s done so by transforming the fortunes of several players.
Matheus Cunha is the biggest example of that upturn in form. The Brazilian was initially deemed as a flop after arriving for a club record £44m in January last year.
Cunha is now one of O’Neil’s most important players after scoring nine Premier League goals this term.
Another player who has made significant strides since the 40-year-old arrived at Molineux is centre-back Max Kilman.
The 26-year-old, who has signed from Non-League side Maidenhead United in 2018, has played in every single minute of Wolves 24 top-flight games.
An ever-present figure at the heart of the Wanderers’ defence and a captain who leads by example, Kilman has impressed O’Neil with his availability and the progress he’s made in the six months he’s been at the club.
“He’s always available. He happily plays on the right even though he probably would be more comfortable on the left. He puts himself out there all the time,” said O’Neil.
“He’s developed a lot as captain and as a footballer, even in the short time I’ve been here, and I’m really pleased with where he is.”
The Wolves boss also commented on the strides he’s made physically and made one interesting claim about the defender.
Gary O’Neil makes an interesting comment about Max Kilman
O’Neil is happy when he sees Kilman in a foot race with an opposing attacker and backs him to come out on top.
He said: “Every time I look at him now he looks ready. If there’s a race in behind our defence I’m delighted when it’s Max because physically he’s very good. I’m pleased, hopefully we can keep him fit, and he’s an important member of the group.”
With Wolves playing a more adventurous style, they can often get exposed defensively and this has seen them concede 39 goals in 24 matches.
Perhaps the reason behind O’Neil’s confidence from an attacking sense is down to having Kilman to bail him out if the ball drops over the top and he needs the Englishman to recover.
The towering centre-back has underscored that claim by averaging an impressive 5.3 balls recovered per game while coming out on top in 63% of his total duels.
Physically, Kilman is extremely agile and deceptively quick for someone of his size and such attributes are useful for Wolves when the ball is turned over.
Indeed, the £50k-per-week titan is a crucial cog in O’Neil’s back three and he is someone who would be sorely missed if he was to get injured.