By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
I’ll readily admit that Max Kilman has surprised me this season.
Much was expected of Konstantinos Mavropanos in the Championship. I had Dinos down alongside Jarrod Bowen and Taty Castellanos as one of the senior players who could make a massive impact at this level.
Kilman was different. After a disastrous Premier League campaign, I wasn’t even completely convinced he was up to the Championship. In fact, back in May Claret & Hugh was told Kilman had no future at West Ham and was likely to leave.
Yet a statistical head-to-head between West Ham’s two centre-backs tells an interesting story.
Mavropanos remains the all-action defender, dominating physically and scoring goals at the other end. Kilman, however, has quietly become West Ham’s Steady Eddie – and an important part of Nuno Espírito Santo’s build-up play.
Mavropanos destroys Kilman in physical battle
Let’s get one thing straight: the defensive duel numbers demonstrate just how effective Mavropanos can be.
Dinos has won 73.3% of his duels this season compared with Kilman’s 60.3%. In the air the difference is even more remarkable, with Mavropanos winning an enormous 81.1% of his aerial battles compared with Kilman’s 62%.
Mavropanos also leads for interceptions and recoveries per 90 and has scored four times compared with Kilman’s one.
| 2026/27 WHU | Kilman | Mavro |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 1 | 4 |
| Pass accuracy | 93.6% | 88.6% |
| Duels won | 60.3% | 73.3% |
| Aerials won | 62.0% | 81.1% |
| Interceptions / 90 | 4.81 | 5.69 |
| Recoveries / 90 | 8.89 | 10.20 |
| Poss. losses / 90 | 6.39 | 9.84 |
Kilman is winning a different battle
But Mavropanos remains prone to the big error… Giving the ball away. We’ve seen him at fault for goals and his performance against Millwall was partially papered over by an important equaliser and a passionate celebration.
Kilman’s reliability is becoming his strength.
He has completed 93.6% of his passes compared with Mavropanos’ 88.6%, while losing possession only 6.39 times per 90 compared with Dinos’ 9.84.
That’s more than usefull for a West Ham team expected to have far more of the ball in the Championship. Kilman has looked comfortable stepping forward and helping West Ham build from the back without continually presenting opposition attackers with cheap opportunities.
We’ve already seen how effective that can be. Against Derby, Kilman and Mavropanos won 18 of their 19 aerial duels between them as the visitors failed to register a shot on target.
Perhaps the most remarkable part is that this wasn’t necessarily the plan.
Nuno spent part of the transfer window trying to strengthen his defensive options. As late as August, West Ham were still looking at experienced centre-backs after missing out on Axel Disasi. Kilman looked anything but guaranteed a prominent role.
Pragmatism eventually won out and the defender has taken his opportunity.
West Ham’s partnership is good enough
I wouldn’t change the partnership now.
Mavropanos gives West Ham aggression, aerial dominance, recoveries and an extraordinary goal threat from centre-back. Kilman provides calmness and security in possession.
That’s quite a turnaround from the opening weeks of the season, when the partnership looked anything but secure. Now they’re playing well enough together that I wouldn’t disturb the central-defensive pairing.
Even with Morato seemingly settling into a role at left-back, I believe Kilman and Mavropanos should be more than good enough as a central defensive partnership at Championship level.
If anything, I’d expect significantly less defensive frailty if Nuno selected a specialist defensive midfielder to protect them. At present, he doesn’t appear to believe that’s necessary.
Kilman arrived at West Ham for huge money and did little during his first season to suggest it had been well spent.
This season is different.
Mavropanos might be stealing the headlines, but West Ham’s overpriced flop is quietly starting to prove his worth… just not really the full £40M.