6 months ago
30 He’ll likely not be officially named as the new West Ham boss until July 1, but it appears that Julen Lopetegui is already making demands of the club.
The Spaniard won’t want to waste any time once he’s unveiled at the London Stadium, and therefore putting deals in place now ready to be executed as soon as practicable is not only sensible but necessary.
Last summer, West Ham went into the week of the opening game of the season as the only Premier League club not to have signed a player.
Lopetegui wants to sign Kilman
Fortunately, the club were able to then secure some high quality additions, however, the reverse needs to be the case this summer.
According to reliable West Ham-related website, Claret and Hugh, Lopetegui apparently wants to make his old Wolves captain, Max Kilman, his first signing for his new club.
It isn’t clear how much the 26-year-old would cost, though if it’s defensive solidity that Lopetegui is looking for then Kilman’s capture is an interesting one.
Only West Ham, Bournemouth and the bottom four in the Premier League have conceded more than Wolves’ 60 goals this season, bringing into question just how well Kilman has marshalled his defence.
Nevertheless, it seems that Lopetegui sees something in the player that he likes, and there’s every reason to believe that the East Londoners will make a bid for the player at the appropriate time.

With a number of West Ham players having to play out of position over the course of the season, bringing in the right players to do certain jobs and in their natural squad position surely has to be of benefit.
Lopetegui has been out of work since leaving Wolves, and it will be interesting indeed to see how quickly he will adapt to being back at the sharp end.
