A lot of players left Wolves in the summer, but one man who had interest but stayed was Max Kilman – and Gary O’Neil will be delighted the club didn’t cash in on him.
Kilman has been ever-present for Wolves so far this season in the Premier League, playing every minute of every game so far. He’s also made a further appearance against Blackpool in the Carabao Cup.
Following the departure of Ruben Neves, Kilman assumed the captaincy at Molineux.
It was a very proud moment for the 26-year-old, who’s worked very hard to get to where he is, having been playing for Maidenhead United as recently as 2018.
Just recently, Kilman has switched to play on the right side of Wolves’ defence. It is a position he found great joy in when Bruno Lage put him there in the 2021/22 season and just lately, he has looked solid.
O’Neil and also the Wolves officials will be very pleased with how he’s getting on, considering there was a chance he could have gone in the summer…
Max Kilman could have left Wolves in the summer with Napoli very keen
Players were leaving left, right and centre in the summer, as Wolves tried to get their finances in order.
There was a point when Kilman might have departed.
Wolves needed to turn a significant profit in order to stay within FFP rules, and Kilman was considered a saleable asset.
Italian giants Napoli came in for Kilman as they were losing Kim Min-jae to Bayern Munich. Reportedly, they offered Wolves £30 million for the defender.
It was rejected by Wolves, but the club would have done business if a suitable offer came in. It is thought £40 million would have been enough (via Mirror).
In the end, this stance from Wolves sent Napoli packing – and Wolves officials will surely be delighted about that now.
Wolves officials will be so glad Kilman stayed
Kilman did actually have a bit of a shaky start this season. Perhaps the weight of expectation brought about by the captaincy was tricky to deal with initially.
But in recent weeks Kilman – whom Gary O’Neil called ‘a really talented boy’ just days after becoming head coach – has been resurgent for Wolves. Arguably, the tactical shift by Gary O’Neil has helped him to rediscover his mojo.
Playing to the right of Dawson, he has looked a calming yet commanding figure. He’s used the ball really well and is dominating aerially along with Dawson.
Clean sheets have still been hard to come by for Wolves and O’Neil will undoubtedly want the team to improve in regards to that. But Kilman hasn’t really done a great deal wrong while those goals have been conceded.
Hopefully, he will once again get to the level he showed a couple of seasons ago.