Mads Hermansen may continue to justify his involvement over Alphonse Areola but, whether he is the solution for West Ham United long-term is a question many fans do not feel ready to answer.
Following Monday’s bore draw at Crystal Palace, Hermansen overtook Arsenal’s David Raya as the goalkeeper with the best clean sheet percentage in the Premier League. The Dane has not been beaten in 46 per cent of his appearances, and now has six clean sheets from 13 outings.
That is six more than Alphonse Areola, by the way.
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West Ham United’s uneventful South London stalemate, though, was not entirely free of nervy moments.
Mads Hermansen still to win over some at West Ham United
Ismaila Sarr’s second-half strike was rightly ruled out for a Jean-Philippe Mateta handball in the build-up. The sight of Mads Hermansen staying glued to his line as the ball bounced ominously around the six-yard box, though, was enough to spike the cortisol levels.
“Still no good at crosses?,” one TalkingPoint user asked on Hammers News’ Facebook page.
“The offside goal we conceded on Monday would have been down to him not commanding his six-yard box,” another argues.
“Worries the hell out of me every time we defend a corner. Stats don’t lie, but they can be misleading.”
“[Hermansen] looked dodgy against Palace,” one says, probably reflecting on the spill which gifted Palace a late set-piece.
“Needs to sort the corners and set-pieces out.”
Can Hermansen still shine without Axel Disasi?
It has not gone unnoticed that West Ham’s run of clean sheets coincided with Axel Disasi’s arrival on loan from Chelsea. Disasi made his debut in February’s 2-0 win at Burnley. That was also Hermansen’s first appearance back in the XI since Nuno Espirito Santo was still in the Nottingham Forest dugout.
Disasi and Konstantinos Mavropanos were ‘fantastic’ away to Palace, to quote Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher. When the two centre-backs in front of you are making 15 clearances between them – as they did on Monday night – well, that goes a long way to easing the pressure on the man between the sticks.
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Disasi’s future at the London Stadium remains uncertain. And Mavropanos has caught the eye of Dortmund. Hermansen’s early-season struggles behind the less-than-commanding Max Kilman, Nayef Aguerd and Jean-Clair Todibo are fresh enough to keep the doubts nagging away at the back of even the most confident minds.
“[Hermansen’s clean sheet record is] more down to the four in front of him, for me,” one fan writes. “Still looks dodgy from corners and I can’t really remember him making many big saves – but happy to be corrected.”
“Half the reason is because of Disasi.”
“[Hermansen has] very good centre-backs backing him.”
It should not be forgotten, in the grand scheme of things, that Hermansen saved West Ham at Fulham with a ‘brilliant’ reflex stop heading into stoppage time. There were solid denials, too, against Burnley and Bournemouth.
Yet, the stats show that the former Leicester glovesman is facing only 4.7 shots on target on average under Nuno, compared to 6.2 during the disastrous start under Graham Potter. The true test of Hermansen’s ‘number one’ credentials may come at the beginning of 2026/27, if Disasi leaves and Mavropanos returns to Germany.
“I like him, and I’m glad he’s getting a second shot at it,” one particularly perceptive fan explains. “If he had those awful few debut matches and then left in the winter, I feel like that would have been terrible for him.
“He’s still young, but he’s capable, and he’ll be learning from Areola’s best qualities. If the future of our goalkeeping resources is Mads, Alph, and Finlay [Herrick], I am content that we can focus resources strengthening elsewhere.
“Look at the start of the season. When Mads has to save 15 shots, of course he’s going to be under pressure, letting them in, and making mistakes borne out of pressure. Our defence was absolutely shocking. Now we look a little more organised back there, and Mads is called upon a fraction of the time he used to be.
“Lo and behold, he’s keeping clean sheets.”
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