Tottenham to ‘back Postecoglou’ with surprise Wolves move as Newcastle ‘rivalled’ for transfer

Wolverhampton Wanderers will reportedly receive a surprise approach from Tottenham Hotspur in the coming weeks as Ange Postecoglou is expected to be backed with funds in the transfer market. The Celtic manager, who will take over at Spurs imminently, is said to be targeting a shock move for Wolves defender Max Kilman.

Not only that, but Brentford goalkeeper David Raya has been eyed up as a replacement for Hugo Lloris, and plans have been put in place to rival Newcastle United for the signature of Leicester City midfielder James Maddison. This is according to a recent report from The Mirror, claiming a major shake-up of Spurs’ squad is coming.

It comes as no surprise that Postecoglou is looking at defensive reinforcements as Tottenham shipped 63 goals in the Premier League last term. Only Leeds United, Southampton, AFC Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest and Leicester City recorded a worse figure for that particular statistic, making for dire reading.

The choice of having Kilman as a priority target will likely come as quite a shock to many, though, as the 26-year-old has very little experience in European competitions. Spurs may have missed out on qualifying for the Europa Conference League and so won’t be playing on the nearby continent this time around, but their ambitions are beyond that.

The surprise doesn’t make Kilman a bad option, however, as he was one of the shining lights as Wolves made an impressive recovery under Julen Lopetegui. Wanderers were at rock bottom of the Premier League when Lopetegui came in but he steadied the ship and drastically improved Wolves’ defence.

There’s no doubting the shaky start to the season and Kilman was part of that, but the defender started all but one league game throughout 2022-23 and, in the end, was crucial to his team earning a respectable 13th-placed finish. It remains unclear how much Wolves would want for Kilman but it’s likely to be a high figure given his importance.