Wolves star chased by Champions League side Napoli as club reject huge £30m transfer bid for defender
WOLVES have rejected a £30million bid from Italian giants Napoli for centre-back Max Kilman.
Kilman, 26, is admired by the Serie A champions as they look to replace the outgoing Kim Min-Jae who has attracted interest from Manchester United and Bayern Munich.
Kim was the outstanding centre-back in the Serie A last season but Napoli face losing him due to a £43m release clause in his contract.
The Korean has reportedly agreed personal terms with Bayern ahead of a move to the Bundesliga side – and Napoli see Kilman as the perfect replacement.
As reported by David Ornstein in the Athletic, Wolves will demand a £34m fee for Kilman.
The defender’s contract runs until 2026 with Wolves having the option to extend by a further year.
That means the club are under little pressure to sell, with Kilman also open to extending his stay at Molyneux.
Wolves signed the defender from non-league Maidenhead United in 2018 for just £40,000 to play for the club’s under-23s.
He has since gone on to make 107 first-team appearances for Wolves’ first team since making his debut in 2019.
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Wolves could face a busy window as they look to replace outgoing defenders having already sold Nathan Collins, 22, to Brentford for £23m.
The £23m paid by Brentford is a club record fee for the Bees.
Collins’ departure followed Wolves’ own record sale as they sold Ruben Neves to Saudi Pro-League side Al-Hilal for £47m.
Meanwhile Conor Coady, 30, has joined Leicester City from Wolves in a £7.5m deal.
The former Wolves captain spent last season on loan at Everton but the Toffees did not activate their £4.5m option to buy the England international.