West Ham are now confident of beating Newcastle to one of the best performers in the Premier League.
Despite a respectable ninth place finish, West Ham fans are eager for reinforcements this summer after a poor end to last season, which saw the Hammers win just two of their final 11 Premier League matches.
Amidst that dreadful run, there was a 5-2 defeat against Crystal Palace and a 5-0 loss to Chelsea.
Now – however – West Ham are confident about beating Newcastle to a player who will surely strengthen Julen Lopetegui‘s backline significantly…
West Ham expect to beat Newcastle to Max Kilman
A story from The Times now states that West Ham think they will beat Newcastle to the signing of Wolves No.23 Max Kilman.
Wolves value the 27-year-old at a sum of £40m.
Lopetegui actually made Kilman captain of Wolves during his time at Molineux, and is hoping for Tim Steidten – Director of Football at the London Stadium – to reunite him with the towering central defender.
Amid interest in the Gillingham academy graduate, Wolves have identified Nico Elvedi of Borussia Monchengladbach as a potential replacement – according to Give Me Sport – which suggests those at Molineux are preparing to lose Kilman this summer.
Wolves No.23 is desperately needed at the London Stadium
While West Ham are in desperate need of a new striker – after Michail Antonio and Danny Ings only scored eight goals combined last season – a new central defender is also highly necessary for the Irons.
Angelo Ogbonna has now departed West Ham after his contract expired, while there are doubts over Nayef Aguerd’s future at the London Stadium after a tough 2023/24 campaign.
Therefore, a top defender is needed to slot in and partner one of Kurt Zouma or Konstantinos Mavropanos, while also beefing up a centre-back department which is very thin.
Speaking of Zouma, it is believed that West Ham are also willing to sell the France international if a good offer arrives this summer.
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Be sure to keep an eye on this situation, as we wouldn’t be surprised to see West Ham sign another central defender in addition to Kilman…