Max headroom

Under the cover of an electoral earthquake West Ham have achieved another stunning feat - signing a central defender who might be half-decent. The club has signed Max Kilman for £40million from Wolves, helped by the fact the Midlands club have financial fair play problems. Max was Lopetegui's captain when he was at Wolves. He'll certainly be fitter than Kurt Zouma and could do much to address the defensive frailties of last season. The fact he's a leader is just what the Irons need. 

The 27-year-old has an interesting background, being born to Ukrainian parents and growing up in London. He's come up the hard way via Alan Devonshire's Maidenhead, which is no bad thing, and is an England international at futsal. Kilman seems to be a good character all round. Scout Matt Hobbs, who signed him for £40,000 at Wolves, says, "I don't know anyone at the club who would have a word to say about him." Could he be West Ham's next captain?

Oh, Said Benrahma

So Said Benrahma has gone to Lyon for £11.9m after a successful loan spell. He'll always be remembered for his penalty in the Europa Conference Final and scored some cracking goals in his time. Though he was a very frustrating player too, who never seemed to achieve quite what he should, shooting when he should pass and passing when he should shoot. Although Said was certainly unlucky with numerous shots against the woodwork. 

News also arrives that Ben Johnson and Diving Mubama won't be signing new contracts. Divin never looked quite ready for the Premier League, though he would benefit from a spell at a Championship side. Johnson made some decent cameos off the bench last season, but can't cross like Coufal and never really recovered from a terrible game at Brighton when the Irons lost 4-0. He remains the best playwright to turn out for West Ham though.

So having also lost Keherer and Ogbonna this summer and only signed 18-year-old Guilherme, the squad is dangerously thin. Tom Steidten, who seems to now be more in control of transfers than Lopetegui (named as chief coach rather than manager) having won his power battle with Moyes, proved he could sign good players at Bayer Leverkusen. He needs to get going quickly in the market now.