Wolves deal blow to Newcastle United as key figure confirms ‘several offers’

Wolverhampton Wanderers have confirmed Max Kilman has penned a new long-term deal just days after speculation linked the defender with a move to Newcastle United.

The 26-year-old centre-back was believed to be one option under consideration by the Magpies hierarchy as they look to strengthen Eddie Howe’s options at the heart of his defence. However, United were far from the only club showing an interest in Kilman after he had been linked with moves to Tottenham Hotspur and Serie A champions Napoli in recent months.

The recent departure of Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui and the Molineux club’s battle with Financial Fair Play regulations was believed to have opened up the possibility of a move for Kilman - but that speculation has been ended after Wolves confirmed the defender had put pen-to-paper on a new deal to keep him at the club until the summer of 2028.

Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs described Kilman as ‘the soul of the team’ after he was handed the captain’s armband by new manager Gary O’Neil and revealed they had rebuffed ‘several offers’ for the defender.

He told the club website: “This is what Max deserves. We’ve been talking to Max since the end of last season and his evolution, not just through the club, but through his role in the first-team, has built a strong foundation for him.

“There was lots of interest in Max, we had several offers, but we haven’t shifted in wanting him to stay. 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.

“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.”