- West Ham lost 2-0 to Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon
- Nuno Espirito Santo chose not to use Maximilian Kilman despite losing Jean-Clair Todibo in the warm-ups
- Maximilian Kilman has five-years left on his contract
West Ham United fell short on Sunday afternoon, losing 2-0 to Aston Villa in a stutter to their Premier League survival. Not much went well for the Hammers, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s team losing Jean-Clair Todibo in the warm-ups to throw off any gameplan the side had before kick-off.
The centre-back felt discomfort in his right calf during a passing drill and immediately signalled the problem to the team’s medical staff. Paco Jemez was informed, who notified Nuno, who had hoped to begin the game with an unchanged side from the 1-1 draw with Manchester City.
Todibo’s injury added another bump in the road with Crysencio Summerville already missing the game through injury – sustained in the FA Cup win over Brentford.
With Todibo out, Nuno had a decision to make. The Hammers boss could have brought Maximilian Kilman in a like for like change, but instead chose to start Freddie Potts and revert to a back-four. Potts would be taken off at half-time.
The pre-match choice has highlighted what is already a bleak future for defender Kilman. The central defender joined West Ham for a £40m from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 2024, where he had played under Nuno, to re-join then-Irons boss, Julien Lopetegui.
Now, Kilman has not appeared for the team since 31st January, in the 3-2 defeat to Chelsea.
West Ham and Maximilan Kilman at a cross roads
There’s no hiding that the 28-year-old’s performances in West Ham shirt have been well below par and it’s shown by Nuno’s distrust in the player. In early January, the defender was dropped form the starting XI after a 3-0 loss to his former side and the club moved to sign Axel Disasi on-loan from Chelsea.
All signs point to Kilman’s long-term future at the Hammers being at an end, regardless of the club’s league status.
Speaking after the loss at Aston Villa, Nuno explained his tactical decision, via The Athletic.
“It was a decision that we had to make,” said Nuno.
“It was based on what we had for the game. The decision was about controlling the midfield and the option was Freddie. We trust him and could go, now you look back, (and think) maybe. But the idea that we had was to try and control with Freddie. He (Todibo) got injured and it disrupted things. Hopefully it’s nothing (serious) and he can return soon.
“It was a distraction (losing Todibo) you go to the dressing room, the players come and you have to organise again. It’s always a disruption, a distraction. I will not point that factor as the main issue to have lost the game. We conceded from a set piece, a combination that requires more than anything focus, attention, communication. We didn’t do it and then the game became very difficult to change.”
With Nuno choosing rather to change his formation, than put Kilman into the side, it’s clear where his ties lie.
Aside from Sunday’s result, West Ham have improved significantly in defensive areas since that loss to Chelsea in January. Disasi, Todibo and Konstantinos Mavropanos have been the chosen three to play, with all three looking settled in the team.
For Kilman it looks as the road for him and West Ham, is at a dead end.
