England boss Gareth Southgate says 'the door is always open' to Wolves defender Max Kilman
Conor Coady has been called up to the latest England squad – but Wolves team-mate Max Kilman has missed out.
The Wolves skipper has been a mainstay in Gareth Southgate’s squads over the last two years, while Kilman’s impressive form for Wolves had many hoping he would receive a first call-up.
But Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi and and Arsenal’s Ben White were chosen ahead of him as Southgate insists Kilman is still on England’s radar.
Southgate said of Kilman: “He’s had a good season with Wolves. There are a lot of good defenders around – Fikayo (Tomori) would be another one we’ve been tracking closely.
“We do our due diligence and know the attributes that are needed for the balance of the team.
“I’m not going to go into huge coaching conversations here because that wouldn’t be appropriate. You can make comments about what’s needed and then that can be a perceived criticism of a player - I got caught doing that once before, so I’m not going to do that again.
“But he’s very much on our radar. He’s one of a number that we tracked closely. I think Marc Guehi, his consistency and the way he’s played over a long period with Crystal Palace, calm with the ball, aggressive without it, quick, mobile - Ben White also has that mobility and speed as well. He’s playing in a pressurised environment so it’s going to be good for us to see those two a bit more closely. But the door is always open.”
Villa’s Tyrone Mings is one of six centre-backs chosen ahead of Kilman, alongside Harry Maguire and John Stones. Former Albion loanee Conor Gallagher and Stourbridge-born Jude Bellingham were also included for the friendlies with Switzerland on March 26 and Ivory Coast on March 29.
