Wolves: £35m or it’s no deal for Max Kilman

Kilman is closing in on 100 Premier League appearances, is settled at Molineux and the club ideally want to keep him on the books.

It remains to be seen whether Napoli will return with a second, improved bid but it would require the Italian club or another suitor to match his valuation before Wolves would have a decision to make.

Reports yesterday claimed Kilman’s former club Maidenhead United may be due a portion of any fee due to a sell-on clause in the deal which saw him move to Molineux in 2018.

The departures of Conor Coady and Nathan Collins are not expected to impact Wolves’ thinking on Kilman, despite the prospect of Craig Dawson and Toti Gomes being the only senior centre-backs on the books should he also leave.

Signing one new defender is already on the cards with Collins expected to complete his £23m move to Brentford later this week, after Coady joined Leicester for a fee which could eventually reach £8.5m.

Sales were always on the cards this summer, with Wolves needing to bring in funds to ease any risk of breaching Financial Fair Play rules but their early success in the market – which began with the club record £47m sale of Ruben Neves to Al Hilal – will not alter their plan to target signings in the £8-15m range with the prospect of increasing in value.

Free agent goalkeeper Tom King yesterday became their first arrival of the summer.

The 28-year-old will replace Matija Sarkic as third-choice keeper at Molineux, with the latter now expected to move on.

Stoke are among the clubs thought to be interested in Sarkic, who has made just three first-team appearances since joining Wolves from Villa three years ago.

Defender Dion Sanderson is another who could leave on a permanent basis in the current window, with Blues keen on the 23-year-old.

King was recommended by goalkeeping coach Tony Roberts, who has worked with the former Newport, Salford and Northampton shot-stopper while both were on duty for the Wales national team.