Tony Cascarino has given his thoughts about Max Kilman following his move from Wolves to West Ham United – and the pundit feels the defender has one area for improvement.
Kilman sealed a £40 million move to the London clubs this weekend, after a breakthrough was reached a few days ago.
Wolves had been holding out for £45 million, but ultimately decided that £40 million was satisfactory.
Kilman has become the club’s fourth-highest ever sale after Matheus Nunes, Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota, and there is a feeling for many that Wolves have done some terrific business here, given Kilman cost just £40,000 to sign.
It is a shame to see him depart, because he has bene a consistent and dependable player for the club. But it’s a move that has suited all parties.
This morning, Tony Cascarino was speaking about Kilman on talkSPORT – and he feels there is one thing he didn’t really see in Kilman that he needs to improve at West Ham.
Tony Cascarino says Max Kilman ‘needs to be more commanding’ after leaving Wolves
Kilman became Wolves captain last summer after Ruben Neves departed for Saudi Arabia.
This came as a surprise to some, because Kilman has never been the most vocal or the biggest character on the pitch, as good a player as he is.
But Kilman assumed the armband, and eventually grew into the role.
But Kilman’s game never really changed too much after becoming captain. He remained the classy, ball-playing centre-half rather than turn into a bullish, bruising central defender.
In the eyes of Cascarino, Kilman didn’t show that dominant side at Wolves and he now needs to do that at his new club West Ham.
He said: “Well, I love the fact that Dawson, I thought Dawson had a big influence on Max Kilman. I spoke to Shaun Derry, who is obviously at Wolves with Gary O’Neil. He works there and we were chatting. I talked to him about Max Kilman about six months ago and I said to him, ‘There’s more to come from him’.
“I think he should have been close to getting into the England squad which he wasn’t. I said I feel there is more to come from him. He is way quicker than you think he should be. He is a centre-half who can turn it on.
“I think he needs to be more commanding and just be, he needs to grow a bit as a player because I think he is a really good centre-half that will, if under Lopetegui, he has worked with him before so he knows his qualities, but I think there is way more development in him as a player.”
Steve Davis made a similar suggestion
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It is interesting to hear this verdict from Cascarino about Kilman, because Steve Davis made a similar suggestion when he was the interim manager at Molineux.
Kilman had come close to making the England squad on a couple of occasions, but his form dipped at the wrong time and he remains uncapped at international level.
Davis suggested during the 2022/23 season that Kilman would potentially earn a call-up if he became a bit more dominant and aggressive.
He said: “For me, if there’s something Max needs to improve on, he needs more aggression in how he plays. You have to have a reputation to be someone the opposition hates playing against. He has to build that.”
Arguably, it is the one area of Kilman’s game that is lacking slightly.
He is an amazing ball-player, which West Ham fans will soon discover. But he was never really overly physical at Wolves, but there is still lots of time for him to develop this side of his game.