Wolves to complete talks with Burnley to sign defender Maxime Esteve

Wolves have opened talks with Burnley to sign defender Maxime Esteve, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Gary O’Neil’s side lost captain Max Kilman earlier in the summer as he joined West Ham United and former manager Julen Lopetegui in a £40million deal, and they are now looking at the market to replace him.

But they face stiff competition to sign the 22-year-old centre-back this summer, as Romano reports that it is an “open race” currently.

After losing Kilman from his squad, O’Neil finds himself short of options in the centre of defence and now Frenchman Esteve has emerged as a target.

According to Romano, a move for Esteve is “one to watch” as several Premier League clubs are exploring a move for the Burnley defender as a way to bolster their options, although they are as yet unnamed.

So far this summer Wolves have signed Rodrigo Gomes, Pedro Lima, Tommy Doyle permanently and Jorgen Strand Larsen on loan from Celta Vigo in Spain. Several first-team players are returning from loan moves away last season too including Daniel Podence, Fabio Silva and centre-back Yerson Mosquera.

Esteve was a regular for the Clarets in the 2023/24 season as he made 16 appearances after joining in January, although he wasn’t able to prevent them being relegated to the Championship.

But his performances showed great potential which would explain why a host of clubs are looking at bringing him in, with Burnley likely to be in need of raising funds after suffering relegation to the Championship at the first attempt.

Wolves have also been linked with a move for Porto defender David Carmo, who has been described as the Portuguese Van Dijk in the past.