West Ham eventually made light work of Portsmouth on Saturday, but the 3-1 scoreline could not completely hide one problem Nuno Espírito Santo still needs to solve before the Championship begins.
Max Kilman returned to competitive action alongside Konstantinos Mavropanos, yet the £40million defender was involved in the moment which briefly threatened to turn an encouraging afternoon into another uncomfortable one at the London Stadium.
Max Kilman back in spotlight for West Ham
The opening half-hour offered little from either side before Portsmouth suddenly went ahead through Adrian Segecic.
His effort from outside the penalty area took a deflection off Kilman before beating Mads Hermansen. The Guardian was particularly critical of the defender’s involvement, describing the expensive signing as a player who has too regularly found himself involved when things go wrong for West Ham.
It was ultimately only a footnote in a comfortable victory.
ReadWestHam’s full report from the 3-1 Portsmouth win details how Taty Castellanos scored twice and Jarrod Bowen added another as Nuno’s side responded impressively either side of half-time.
Kilman’s situation deserves more attention, though.
West Ham spent £40million to sign him from Wolves in 2024 after he had played every minute of the previous Premier League season. He arrived on a seven-year contract and was expected to become one of the foundations of the club’s defence.
Two years later, those expectations have changed considerably.
Nuno needs £40m defender to rediscover his best
BBC Sport highlighted Kilman when examining the recruitment decisions behind West Ham’s relegation, noting that the defender had not played a competitive minute after the end of January last season.
The Championship now offers an opportunity to reset.
Nuno handed Kilman a start in West Ham’s first competitive XI of the season, suggesting the defender still has a route back into his manager’s plans.
West Ham will need him.
A 46-game Championship campaign will place enormous demands on the squad, and Nuno cannot afford to carry a £40million centre-back who is trusted only as emergency cover.
Kilman does not need to justify his transfer fee in one afternoon. He does need to become dependable again.
Saturday ended with West Ham celebrating a comfortable victory and looking forward to their league opener at Burnley.
For Kilman, the work to rebuild his standing has only just begun.
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