Wolves captain, Max Kilman has signed a new five-year contract at the club until June 2028.
Kilman joined Wolves from Maidenhead United in Summer 2018 and made his senior in a 1-0 win over Fulham at the end of his maiden season at the club, from which he has since gone on to score one goal in 107 first-team appearances.
The now 26 year-old also made five appearances during Wolves’ memorable run to Quarter-Finals of 2019-20 Europa League, which was ultimately ended by eventual champions – Sevilla.
Kilman eventually went on to become a first-team regular under Bruno Lage who replaced Nuno Espirito Santo in summer 2021.
Wolves’ Sporting Director, Matt Hobbs explained that Kilman had earned his new five-year contract with “his evolution,” and progress in the last two seasons, which saw the club receive several transfer offers this summer amidst pressure to meet Financial Fair Play rules.
Hobbs however iterated that Kilman is key to the team this coming season as he explained: “We believe he’s the soul of the team, having been here for a long time now, so he was never a player we considered selling.
“In what’s been an unsettled time for the club, announcing a new head coach and our captain committing long-term shows the noise outside doesn’t match what we feel is going on inside.”
Kilman in the past week saw a change of manager as Julen Lopetegui resigned and was swiftly replaced by Gary O’Neil, who rapidly settled upon Kilman as his new club captain.
Hobbs spoke with pride at how Kilman handled this sudden change amidst eagerness from both him and O’Neil to complete his new contract quickly, as he continued: “Although the manager changed, nothing changed for Max.
“He’s been very excited by what he’s seen from Gary and his team the first couple of days. Then we obviously told Gary and he was keen to get it done because he was going to be his captain, so we got it done as soon as we could.”
Hobbs also reflected upon watching Kilman progress into becoming captain for the club, as he added: “His journey almost mirrors mine. I signed Max into the academy and giving him a new, long-term deal as sporting director, our paths have aligned slightly, so it’s been really nice.
“It was great work done by the academy, Rob Edwards at the time, and Nuno was great for him.”
Hobbs went on to praise Kilman for having a “temperament” in wanting to stay and interact with first-team players, unlike other young players who were desperate to get out on loan and gain experience through regular playing time, which he described as the “perfect” journey for the defender.
Kilman will captain Wolves for the first time tomorrow (14 August) away at Manchester United in their opening Premier League match of 2023-24 season.
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