Why star footballers want to leave Saudi Arabia

GiveMeSport

·13 January 2024

Why star footballers want to leave Saudi Arabia

Highlights

Wolverhampton Wanderers could be unwilling to let centre-back Max Kilman leave Molineux, despite interest from West Ham United.
Kilman has become an important player for Gary O'Neil's Wolves side and has been named club captain following the summer 2023 departures of Conor Coady and Ruben Neves.
The 26-year-old recently signed a new contract which expires in the summer of 2028.

Wolverhampton Wanderers wouldn’t want to see defender Max Kilman leave the club during the winter window amid interest from West Ham United, as Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth considers the likelihood of a potential deal at Molineux.

Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil has enjoyed an excellent start to his managerial career in the Black Country, despite the club being forced to work to a tight budget to comply with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.

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Kilman has established himself as a regular in O’Neil’s side throughout the 2023/24 campaign and has played a vital role in Wanderers keeping themselves a healthy distance away from the relegation zone. Wolves have already had to fend off interest in the centre-back at the start of the season. They will look to avoid entering into further transfer negotiations over the defender.

Wolves have already rejected interest in Kilman

During the beginning of the 2023 summer transfer window, Wolves were under pressure to sell players and generate cash to avoid punishment from the Premier League after coming close to the profit and sustainability threshold. Wanderers are set to prevent breaching any financial rules, having sold £140m worth of talent during the first window of the 2023/24 season. However, one player they were reluctant to sell was Kilman, who had garnered interest from abroad.

Serie A champions Napoli made a £30m bid for the 26-year-old in July 2023, swiftly rejected by the Black Country outfit. Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur are thought to have kept the centre-back on their radar. However, Kilman would sign a new contract until 2028 at Molineux the following month before being confirmed as club captain in the wake of Conor Coady and Ruben Neves’ departures.

Despite a tumultuous summer, Wolves find themselves within reach of the top half of the Premier League. Three successive top-flight victories left O’Neil’s side sat 11th in the Premier League before matchweek 21, three points behind seventh-placed Brighton & Hove Albion.

Despite Wolves’ success, rumours of a Kilman departure have resurfaced, with The Guardian claiming that West Ham are interested in a deal for the Wanderers skipper. Wolves would demand a fee in the region of £40m for the centre-back and would be reluctant to lose a key player mid-way through the campaign. TalkSPORT reporter Alex Crook has recently suggested to GIVEMESPORT (7th January) that West Ham could consider putting Nayef Aguerd in a swap deal for Kilman.

Dharmesh Sheth - Kilman could be one of Wolves’ ‘untouchables’

Sheth believes it will be difficult for West Ham to persuade Wolves into selling Kilman this month, given the captain recently signed a new contract at Molineux. The Sky Sports reporter has also hinted that the centre-back could be one of O’Neil’s “untouchables.” Sheth told GIVEMESPORT:

“Signing Kilman would be difficult for West Ham to do in this window. Wolves wouldn't want to see him go. He signed a contract last summer until 2028. He looks like one of the untouchables even though we know about Wolves’ financial situation, and sometimes they need to sell before they can go into the market. So, you can never say a player is not for sale, particularly at Wolves. It would all depend on what kind of price will be offered for somebody like Kilman. But I think West Ham would probably only go into the market with regard to trying to bring someone in if there was a departure in that position.”

Wolves transfer news, including an update on Joao Gomes’ future

Unsurprisingly, given their financial issues, Wolves are yet to make a first-team signing during the 2024 winter window and will only move if the right deal becomes available at a fair price. However, Wanderers have already made three sales, with the loan departures of Fabio Silva, Sasa Kalajdzic and Luke Cundle to Rangers, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Stoke City, respectively.

Meanwhile, according to Fla Web, Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes has ‘ended up on Tottenham Hotspur’s agenda’. The 22-year-old arrived at Molineux from Flamengo in January 2023 and has established himself as a regular in the middle of the park for O’Neil’s side. The same report claims that Wolves must receive an offer of €35m (£30m) to consider any sale.

Elsewhere in the Wanderers squad, the Tenías Que Haber Tirado podcast (via Talking Wolves) has claimed that Celta Vigo have met with the full-back Jonny Castro Otto’s representatives ahead of a potential return to the club. The 29-year-old was banished from the first-team squad following a training ground incident in which he elbowed U23s midfielder Tawanda Chirewa before spitting at a coaching staff member who tried to drag him away from the clash.