Can Max Kilman complete his West Ham United redemption after early-season revival?

Max Kilman could potentially play a huge role in a successful chapter of West Ham United's history.

The centre-back joined the Hammers from Wolves in 2024 for a fee worth £40million, but has received plenty of criticism since at the London Stadium.

The 29-year-old underperformed in his debut season, as his performances regressed even further last term.

Kilman played 21 games in the Premier League, a key reason why the Irons were relegated to the Championship for the first time since 2011.

However, Nuno Espirito Santo has seen something that not many others have in E20, and trusts the defender to play a crucial role in what will hopefully be a promotion-winning campaign.

With West Ham currently second in the division, can Kilman complete his redemption arc by helping the Hammers get back to the promised land?

How Max Kilman is finally giving back to West Ham

West Ham had to raise £150m in sales this summer to balance the books, suffering obvious financial implications due to relegation.

Poor signings like Kilman were a chain reaction of events that led the Hammers to their fate of relegation to the Championship.

However, all hope is not lost yet with the Englishman.

As per FotMob data, Kilman has an average rating of 7.37 so far in the second tier and has made a total of 90 defensive actions in 11 games.

The defender has an average aerial duel win rate of 65.6 per cent, and wins the majority of his overall duels at 59.1 per cent.

His passing accuracy stands at 92.4 per cent, as he's yet to make a single error that leads to a goal, something which West Ham fans are used to.

Interestingly, he scored the Hammers' first goal of the Championship season, which also went down as his maiden goal for the Irons.

It would be quite the story if his goal was the first of what could turn out to be a promotion-winning story for West Ham.

Surely, Kilman would redeem himself at West Ham if promotion is achieved.

Who has been better so far: Konstantinos Mavropanos or Kilman?

Konstantinos Mavropanos' name has been bandied about recently, with many Championship fans including him in their team of the season so far.

However, many people have suggested that the Greece international's goals have covered up some of his defensive mishaps.

Some would even go as far as to say that Kilman has been better defensively for West Ham this season.

Well, Mavropanos wins more aerial and ground duels on average, and has so far made more tackles and interceptions.

The only areas that Kilman currently excels in are clearances, blocks and pass accuracy.

Mavropanos' goals show that he's been more important for West Ham this season, but both are crucial to reach the ultimate goal.