How on earth do West Ham United – and Nuno Espirito Santo, specifically, in the aftermath of Monday’s Brentford capitulation – solve a problem like Max Kilman?
At this stage, is the damage done to his reputation even fixable? On a weekend in which Harry Maguire completed his Manchester United redemption arc with a winner at Anfield, is there a world in which Max Kilman does the same for the Hammers at some point down the line?
Or is it all too far gone? The fact that the appointment of his former Wolves boss appears to have had no impact on the £40 million centre-back’s performances – Kilman excelled under Nuno at Molineux, after all – is a pretty damning indictment.
Jamie Carragher, the Liverpool legend, said what most are thinking regarding up the 28-year-old’s rapid decline at West Ham United after Brentford consigned their London rivals to a seventh defeat in nine games.
Carragher was a big fan of Kilman at Wolves. Many were, in fact. Nuno included, obviously. But a man who often relied upon the physicality of Willy Boly and Craig Dawson alongside him in the Old Gold defence is simply ‘too passive’ to be considered a suitable ‘leader at the back for West Ham’.
But, even if Nuno was thinking about dropping a player he gave a Premier League debut to, viable replacements are few and far between. Konstantinos Mavropanos is likely to miss the Leeds clash on Friday due to an injury which left the Hammers down to ten men during the dying embers against Brentford.
That leaves Nuno with only three fit centre-halves. Kilman, the horribly out of form Jean-Clair Todibo, and a loanee in Igor Julio who has played just one minute since joining from Brighton and Hove Albion.
But if we expand the search to West Ham players who have played at centre-half before – albeit while more comfortable in another role – a potential solution could present itself in the shape of Soungoutou Magassa.
West Ham United’s Soungoutou Magassa started out as a defender at Monaco
There were plenty of bemused faces when Nuno, for whatever reason, ensured that Freddie Potts and Soungoutou Magassa stayed on the bench. Andy Irving was unexpectedly handed a first Premier League start of the season alongside the returning Tomas Soucek.
And when most in the stands expected to see Potts or Magassa introduced with around 20 minutes to go, well, the audible confusion which accompanied the sight of Guido Rodriguez trotting onto the pitch spoke volumes.
Both Potts and Magassa are hardly the finished articles, at 22 and 21 respectively. But in a game which was crying out for some intensity and fight in the centre of the park, neither the club’s most exciting academy graduate nor their £14 million summer signing entered the fray.
Magassa, in particular, could prove to be an invaluable asset as Nuno looks to strengthen an error-prone backline.
Whether in his favoured number six role, or perhaps in the centre-back spot where he started his professional career at Monaco, the France Under-21 international’s versatility may come in very handy with Mavropanos now out, and Todibo and Kilman going, well, the opposite of ‘strength-to-strength’.
“I was used to filling in at centre back for 10/15 minutes but never a full 90,” Magassa told Get France Football News in 2023 after making his mark on the first-team as a central defender under Philippe Clement.
“I like [the midfield] position because you run more, you see more of the ball. But I try to bring as much as possible as a defender [too].
“Even if I play on the left [of the defensive duo] I’m a right-footer who can also play the ball out well.”
Magassa would bring pace and aggression to West Ham’s defence
Magassa, at the time, was taking inspiration from Benoit Badiashile. The Monaco centre-half who eventually earned himself a move to Chelsea. Of the 57 competitive games Magassa played for Monaco, 15 of those saw him start in defence.
Les Monegasques would lose only three of those.
Totally Football Analysis performed a deep dive on Magassa’s performances during that breakout 2023/24 campaign. A campaign in which he featured largely as the left-sided centre-back in a three-man defence.
“Magassa’s aggressiveness is the number one thing that immediately jumps out about his game,” they wrote. “Magassa is Monaco’s most aggressive centre-back and evidently has the licence to jump out of the back frequently, following attackers deep, pressing and tackling to regain possession.
“He welcomes one-v-one duels and engaging with attackers to prevent them from moving beyond him.”
They highlighted a promising display up against current Ballon D’Or holder Ousmane Dembele, albeit in a match Paris Saint-Germain eventually won 5-2.
“Magassa moves with pace, has fast reactions and reads the game quite well. Magassa’s future may lie at centre-back, though he’ll need to fine-tune his defensive game.
“Particularly concerning when he should commit, and when it’d be better to hang back and wait before engaging, as well as improve his aerial ability.”
According to The Athletic, Nuno trialled a three-at-the-back system during a behind-closed-doors friendly against Wolves earlier this month. West Ham shifted formation at half-time against Brentford, too. Mavropanos, Kilman and Todibo all lined up together in an attempt to push the full-backs higher and get Lucas Paqueta on the ball in a deeper position.
Magassa, having started out at Monaco as a promising, highly aggressive and quick-footed left-sided centre-back, is therefore an option worth considering as Nuno looks for an immediate riposte at Elland Road.
