Nuno can instantly win fans over by dropping Kilman for West Ham “animal”

West Ham United officially confirmed that Graham Potter had been relieved of his duties at the London Stadium on Saturday, less than 24 hours after his pre-match press conference ahead of the Everton match.

The Hammers did not waste much time in finding a replacement for the English head coach, though, as Nuno Espirito Santo was unveiled later on in the day.

Sacked by Nottingham Forest earlier this season, after a breakdown in his relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis, the Portuguese boss steps straight in for the game against the Toffees on Monday night.

The former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Forest boss will be hoping to instantly win the supporters over in his first game, and he should drop Max Kilman from the side in order to do that.

Why Max Kilman should be dropped

West Ham splashed a whopping £40m fee to sign the English central defender from Premier League rivals Wolves in the summer of 2024, hoping to improve their backline.

Unfortunately, the Hammers ended the season with 62 goals conceded in 38 league games. Kilman, per Sofascore, ended the campaign with a worrying four errors that led to shots and two errors that led to goals for the opposition, which shows that he was prone to making mistakes at the back.

So far this season, Kilman has started all five games in the league and West Ham had conceded the most goals in the division (13) before Saturday’s matches.

The left-footed defender has lost 56% of his ground duels in the top-flight this season, per Sofascore, and has not looked assured at all in the heart of the defence, which is why Nuno must drop him from the XI for the trip to the Hill Dickinson.

Such has been the nature of his poor performances, West Ham Transfers – a fan account with over 77k followers – posted on X that Kilman is “worse than Roger Johnson”, which led to many supporters replying in agreement, illustrating how a section of the fanbase feel about the defender.

The West Ham player who should replace Max Kilman

In order to keep the balance of the team, the new West Ham boss should bring Igor Julio into the starting line-up for his debut for the club in the left-sided centre-back role.

Whether Nuno goes with a back three or a back four, a left-footed centre-back will be needed for balance when playing out from the back, which is why the Brighton loanee could slot in as a replacement for Kilman.

The Brazilian star, who was hailed as an “animal” by former coach Inigo Calderón, played for Brighton in the League Cup against Oxford earlier this season and showcased his aggressive defending.

As you can see in the table above, Igor won seven of his nine duels, including six of his seven ground duels, and this suggests that he could be much stronger than Kilman, who has been dominated on the deck this season, at the back for the Hammers.

The left-footed defender was also unbeaten in all three of the Premier League matches that he featured in for Brighton in the second half of last season, including a win against Spurs and draws with Arsenal and Aston Villa.

Igor, who started ten times in the top-flight last term, is a dominant defender who has Premier League experience under his belt, which is why Nuno should not have any concerns about throwing him straight into the action against West Ham.

Given how bad the defence has been this season, and how some supporters have viewed Kilman’s performances, bringing the Brazilian titan into the team to lead the Hammers to a defensive masterclass against Everton could instantly get fans onside for Nuno.