Gareth Southgate has today announced his preliminary England squad for Euro 2024 – and there was, perhaps expectedly, no inclusion for Wolves captain Max Kilman.
The Three Lions boss has selected 33 players, whom he will closely assess in the coming weeks ahead of the tournament in Germany.
Before the tournament, Southgate will trim down his squad to 26 players.
The manager has made some very interesting calls. The headlines are that big names like Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling Jordan Henderson have all been left out.
Newbies such as Jarell Quansah, who scored against Wolves on Sunday for Liverpool, Adam Wharton and Curtis Jones have all been selected.
But there was once again no nod for Max Kilman, who might just be considering his future after his latest snub…
Max Kilman may be considering his Wolves future after latest England snub
Kilman has had a decent season for Wolves in his first term as club captain.
He had a bit of a shaky start, with the armband seeming to weigh heavy at times, but really found his feet once Wolves moved to a back three.
He enjoyed a really solid middle part of the season. But his form took a bit of a dive once Craig Dawson got injured, and Wolves just couldn’t buy a clean sheet in the final couple of months of the season.
But Kilman is one of only two outfield players to have been ever-present in the Premier League this season, the other being William Saliba.
Kilman was absolutely superb in the 2021/22 season when he played on the right of a back three under Bruno Lage, and was also one of the better performers for Wolves last season in a difficult season.
He’s been fairly consistent in the Premier League for a couple of years now, and can be forgiven for feeling a little frustrated that he hasn’t made this latest squad.
Around a month ago, former Old Gold star Andy Thompson branded him one of the best one-vs-one defenders in the Premier League. And ex-midfielder Simon Osborn insisted that Kilman was better than Harry Maguire and should already be in the England squad.
No one expected him to go to the Euros. But Southgate is clearly ready to look at other players.
The fact that fellow defenders Jarrad Branthwaite and Quansah have both received call-ups before him must be a bit tough for the £50,000-a-week ace to take.
Kilman might just feel that to get into the England squad, he may actually need to join another club. A club the England manager spends more time watching.
He’s had interest from Manchester United this year, with Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United having also been linked. Wolves are probably not going to want to sell, but it will be interesting to see what the centre-back does if offers do come in for him.
On balance, he probably should have had a chance with England by now.
But his opportunity hasn’t come yet and one wonders if Southgate has actually had a proper look at him, and if Kilman feels he’s visible enough to him.
