Wolves to hand huge £6-8m payday to non-league side as Max Kilman completes £40m move to West Ham United

The deal that seen the now former Molineux captain sign a mammoth seven-year deal with the Hammers was completed on Saturday morning, with the 27-year-old linking up again with former Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui.

But with non-league Maidenhead - who finished 14th in the National League table last season - inserting a reported 15-20 percent sell-on clause in the deal that took Kilman to the Old Gold in 2018, Alan Devonshire’s side stand to earn an impressive cash windfall of between £6-8m.

That will come as a blow to Gary O’Neil as he tries to utilise as much of the Kilman money as possible to find a replacement in the heart of the Wolves defence and to add further additions to his squad ahead of the 2024-25 Premier League season. To date the Molineux side have made three signings during the transfer window - Tommy Doyle from Manchester City for an undisclosed fee, Braga’s Rodrigo Gomes for £12.7m and Pedro Lima, who has arrived from Sport Recife for £8.5m.

Speaking for the first time after completing his move to West Ham, Kilman said: “It’s an amazing feeling to be a West Ham United player.

‘As soon as I was aware of the interest from the club, it was an opportunity I was keen to pursue, so I couldn’t be more delighted to be here.

‘I really enjoyed working with Julen during his time at Wolves – he’s a top-class coach and someone I learned a lot from, and I am confident I will continue to improve as a player under his management here.’

Kilman added: ‘West Ham is a massive club and I feel this is the natural next step forward in my career.

‘Playing in front of a passionate fan base, with 62,500 supporters packing out London Stadium every other week, is something I am incredibly excited about.

‘Having spoken at length to both Julen and Tim (Steidten), I was hugely encouraged about the ambition of the club and their plans for the future. They want to make a big noise here at West Ham and as a new player coming in, that’s an incredible thing to hear.

‘I’m looking forward to getting down to work and preparing for an exciting season ahead.’

Kilman made 151 appearances for Wolves following his £40,000 move from Maidenhead in 2018. Wolves intitally turned down at £25m offer for the defender, who signed a new copntract at Molineux last summer after interest from Napoli.