West Ham’s £40m deal for Wolves captain Max Kilman accepted

West Ham are set to sign Wolves captain Max Kilman for £40 million as new manager Julen Lopetegui moves to raid his old club.

Kilman has been a priority target for Lopetegui this summer and an improved offer for the centre-back was accepted by Wolves on Thursday afternoon.

The 27-year-old was having a medical at West Ham’s training ground on Thursday evening and is expected to sign a long-term contract at the London Stadium.

Lopetegui made Kilman his Wolves captain during his spell at Molineux in the 2022-23 season and identified him as one of the club’s preferred options this summer shortly after his appointment.

Kilman was an ever-present for Gary O’Neil last season and has been on the fringes of the England squad in recent seasons.

Wolves rejected a £30 million bid from Serie A club Napoli last year and then persuaded the defender to sign a new long-term contract, while turning down offers this summer from West Ham and Newcastle United.

Wolves did not want to lose Kilman but are aware that a major sale this summer will allow O’Neil far more room for manoeuvre in the transfer window.

The fee is complicated by the fact that non-league Maidenhead negotiated a hefty sell-on clause of 10 per cent when he was sold in 2018 for just £40,000.

Lopetegui’s move for his priority signing comes after he insisted there would be “no limit” set on what West Ham could achieve this season.

“We are not going to put limits,” he said on Monday. “Our focus and aim has to be the first match. Our ambition is that we love to win, we love to work in this kind of place and fight for the club.

“Our first match is our first test, against Aston Villa. We are aware that we have a very hard start, but this is the Premier League.

“I think that we have a very good platform, talking about the squad, the team and the players - to be able to do one step and to make a big noise. That is the aim that we want to make here.

“That’s why I have a lot of reasons to say yes to West Ham. I am very happy.”