Napoli 'not willing to pay €40m for Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Max Kilman'

Napoli are reportedly not willing to meet Wolverhampton Wanderers' asking price for defender Max Kilman.

In recent weeks, it has become apparent that the Serie A champions will not be able to retain the services of Kim Min-jae due to a release clause in his clause.

The South Korea international is allegedly on the brink of finalising a transfer to Bayern Munich, effectively leaving Napoli in a position where they will look to find a replacement for a similar fee.

While a wide array of alternatives are on the market, the Italian giants have seemingly settled on Kilman as their priority target ahead of 2023-24.

The 26-year-old has been with Wolves since 2018, making a total of 107 appearances during that period with 89 being made in the Premier League.

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Although Wolves have already witnessed Nathan Collins sign for Brentford, there is said to be an openness on Wolves' part to sell Kilman for the right price.

Recently, it has been suggested that the West Midlands outfit are prepared to cash in on Kilman for £35m (€41m) if Napoli are prepared to follow up with such a proposal, with Wolves also needing to take into account a sell-on clause to Maidenhead United.

However, according to Corriere dello Sport, Napoli officials view Wolves' price-tag for Kilman to be "excessive".

The report indicates that Napoli are even not prepared to pay €40m (£34.1m) for a player who is uncapped on the international scene and only has five outings in the Europa League to his name.

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As it stands, it is unclear what the next move of either club will be, with Wolves reportedly open to handing Kilman a new contract in order to match the finances on offer at Napoli.

Earlier this week, a report suggested that Napoli are prepared to hand Kilman a contract worth €2.5m (£2.1m) per season, a substantial increase on his terms at Molineux.

From Wolves' perspective, they no longer need to sell to meet FFP criteria courtesy of having raised funds through the exits of Collins, Conor Coady and Ruben Neves, as well as freeing up space on the wage bill through the departures of Joao Moutinho and Diego Costa at the end of their contracts.

Julen Lopetegui is also short of central defensive options with Craig Dawson and Toti Gomes currently the only other two players at his disposal for that area of the pitch.