As the West Ham players went through their usual pre-match warm-ups against Aston Villa on Sunday, Jean-Clair Todibo pulled up with an injury. It meant that, with just minutes before kick-off, Hammers manager Nuno Espírito Santo had to hurriedly make a decision over who should replace him. And the fact that Max Kilman was not chosen is incredibly revealing.
Because in the absence of West Ham’s star man and winger, Crysencio Summerville, Nuno had clearly decided that the best way to combat Aston Villa was with three central defenders. Therefore, the obvious move would have been to make a like-for-like replacement, with £40 million Kilman coming in for the injured Todibo.
Now, let’s be clear here, West Ham fans need no explanation as to how disappointing Kilman has been. Despite his lofty price tag, he is comfortably the worst central defender at the club, has little in the way of fight and intensity, and is massively error-prone. However, it should be noted that Espírito Santo managed Kilman at Wolverhampton Wanderers and, upon arriving in the West Ham hot seat, was happy enough to select his former player.
Nuno Espirito Santo talks to max Kilman
Kilman may never play again under Nuno
Nuno’s decision tells its own story
The fact that, on this occasion, he chose to ditch a system in which the team had been training to combat Aston Villa all week rather than pick an individual explains much. An article in The Athletic yesterday suggested Kilman may have played his last game for the club, which is astounding given the money West Ham have paid for him.
Most Read on West Ham News
When the dust settles at the end of what has been a horrendous season, there needs to be a root and branch inquiry over players signed and managers hired over recent years, irrespective of what division we’ll be playing in.