As Nuno Espirito Santo shines a light on Jean-Clair Todibo’s fitness concerns ahead of West Ham United’s trip to Wolves, anyone hoping to see Max Kilman removed from the firing line would be advised against holding their breath.
Another Premier League matchday, another brutal Max Kilman error.
Ahead of a return to his old stomping ground on Saturday afternoon, Wolverhampton Wanderers at least have something to warm the cockles. It speaks volumes that, when West Ham made an approach for Jorgen Strand Larsen late last month, the Wolves fans were framing the striker as ‘another Kilman’.
In short, Strand Larsen, at a reported £45 million, would be another pulling down of the proverbial pants from an Old Gold outfit laughing all the way to the bank.
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Kilman gifted Brighton an equaliser shortly after Jarrod Bowen’s tenth minute opener on Tuesday. Sliding in and sending Yankuba Minteh tumbling, the error-prone centre-back almost looked like he was being controlled by a FIFA player taking up Pro Evolution for the first time and getting his buttons all mixed up.
That large portions of the West Ham United fanbase have been clamouring for the return of Konstantinos Mavropanos alongside Jean-Clair Todibo – the Greek international’s absence has had Hammers hearts growing stronger with every Kilman blunder – rather sums up just how desperate things have gotten.
Now, Mavropanos may well make his return to the starting XI at Molineux. But not in place of Kilman.
Nuno Espirito Santo shares Jean-Clair Todibo fears before Wolves v West Ham United
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Nuno confirms that his most in-form centre-half is a doubt thanks to a groin strain which forced him off just before the interval in that 2-2 draw with Brighton.
“We are assessing now,” Nuno said. “What [Todibo] said was that it was the groin, that he started feeling tight, he was not able to run and there was a lot of sprints going back in this space.
“We have to assess him so I cannot tell you [if he will be passed fit at this stage].”
Of course, Nuno does still have Igor Julio at his disposal, as well as teenager Ezra Mayers. Given that the duo have played less than 150 minutes of Premier League football between them this season, though, the expectation is that Nuno will persist with Kilman should Todibo fail to pass a late fitness test.
“They are tough, every game in the Premier League is tough so we expect at Molineux a very tough game,” adds Nuno, who famously took Wolves into the Europa League quarter-finals during far happier times in the Black Country.
“Both teams in need like us and Wolves and when we have the need we have to do whatever we can to achieve it. Our job here at West Ham takes so much out of us that honestly it seems like there’s nothing else around. There’s nothing else, it doesn’t exist, anything.
“What I want is to perform, compete and make this point [against Brighton] really valuable. If we achieve a good win there, a good performance, this is what we’re going to prepare.”
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Nuno desperate to mark his 201st Premier League match with a win on Molineux return
Should they beat both Wolves and Nottingham Forest in the next few days, and should Sean Dyche’s side lose to Aston Villa in Saturday’s early kick-off, West Ham will actually go into the FA Cup third round weekend outside of the relegation zone.
Win those potentially make-or-break fixtures, and as Pablo, Taty Castellanos and Adama Traore arrive, the Hammers could find themselves heading into 2026 with a renewed sense of optimism.
“Every game is important,” the head coach continues, this his 201st Premier League match as a manager. “We’re going to start the second half of the season. All of the teams that are around are direct opponents. It’s really, really important. It’s huge.
“Now, we have to recover well. It’s going to be a quick turnaround. Recover well, assess properly the options that we have, which are not too many, so we can compete in both of them properly.”
“I am older, older, older. Mature, more mature. Hopefully, I can do 200 again!
“It’s [still] impossible to deal [with defeats]. It’s painful. Believe me, when you don’t win and you go on a run that you can and you feel that it’s there to take, it’s hard on everybody, especially on those who have the responsibility because we are in a big club that requires better from us.”
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