West Ham United make contact to sign Wolves star Max Kilman - Fabrizio Romano

West Ham United have opened talks with Wolves about signing defender Max Kilman, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Writing on his personal X account (18 June), the reliable journalist reports that Julen Lopetegui is a big fan of his former player and wants to bring him to the London Stadium.

A deal is not expected to be easy but the Hammers are exploring the possibilities and have started contacts about a move.

West Ham United want to sign Wolves captain Max Kilman

Central defence is a position that West Ham need to strengthen as a priority during the summer transfer window, and Lopetegui knows Kilman well.

In fact, he was the manager at the club when Kilman became captain of Wolves and started earning plaudits and being tipped for a call-up to the senior England squad.

Kurt Zouma is reportedly allowed to leave the club, while there are question marks about the future of Nayef Aguerd [Hakim Zhouri, 11 May] too and Angelo Ogbonna has already left.

There has been talk of interest in World Cup winner Mats Hummels [HITC, 17 June] after he became a free agent, but Kilman seems like a more realistic target although he's likely to be expensive.

Wolves turned down bids from Napoli last summer and while they need to sell due to PSR reasons, he is a key player and they won't let him go easily. This is one to watch over the coming weeks.

In other West Ham news, the club have made contact to sign an ex-Tottenham star on a free transfer.

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