One of the goalkeepers West Ham snubbed to sign dropped Mads Hermansen has just set what is believed to be a new world record for top level football.
The achievement will undoubtedly spark debate over whether the club made the right transfer decision – especially as poor recruitment is one of the many grievances Hammers fans have with the owners.
Make no mistake Mads Hermansen has endured a torrid start to life at West Ham.
But Graham Potter has to take a large share of the blame.
It was the Hammers boss who pushed to make the relegated Leicester man the club’s £15.5m record goalkeeper signing.
Potter hangs Hermansen out to dry after horror Hammers start
And it was Potter who rather naively threw Hermansen straight into the number one spot just days after his arrival.
It should also be noted that Hermansen missed the tail-end of last season as he had an operation, making Potter’s decision to chuck him straight back in at the deep end even more questionable.
Hermansen had a poor game as West Ham lost 3-0 on his debut at Sunderland and was directly, and partially, at fault for goals in defeats to Chelsea and Spurs too.
A Tottenham star exposed the folly of Potter’s ways by admitting they targeted Hermansen from set-pieces when they went to West Ham and won comfortably.
Supporters have voiced concerns that Hermansen is simply too small to be a commanding Premier League goalkeeper.
Especially playing behind West Ham’s meek and porous defence.
Hammers News revealed fans are right about his height as Hermansen is in fact the third smallest number one in the Premier League.
When Alphonse Areola came in for the League Cup game at Wolves, his confidence had taken a further knock by being dropped so ruthlessly.
And it showed in a nervy display where he was at fault for two of Wolves’ three goals as West Ham bowed out at the first hurdle.
Potter completed his utter mismanagement of the goalkeeper situation by dropping Hermansen for what was billed a ‘must-not-lose’ game against Crystal Palace.
Goalkeeper West Ham snubbed sets new world record
The head coach did not only drop Hermansen, he also hung him out to dry as he told Sky Sports he had to bench the Dane ‘for the good of the team’.
Fans questioned the wisdom of that public admission and what it might do for Hermansen’s already shaky confidence.
The move didn’t help much, either. West Ham still conceded from a corner – a record seventh already this season in five games – and lost the match.
Potter is now facing the sack in the coming days and weeks.
On the evidence so far, signing Hermansen for £15.5m appears to be a glaring error of judgement. Not least because West Ham needed another striker and centre-back.
It has now been further compounded too.
Because a goalkeeper West Ham snubbed to sign Hermansen has set what’s believed to be a new world record.
West Ham were linked with a host of goalkeepers before eventually signing Hermansen in the summer transfer window.
Robert Sanchez, Djorde Petrovic, Caoimhin Kelleher, Noah Atubolu, John Victor and Aaron Ramsdale were just some of the stoppers linked with moves to the London Stadium.
The Hammers have actually been on the tail of Germany Under 21 star Atubolu ever since their clashes with Freiburg in the Europa League.
Top flight world first for Atubolu after West Ham snub
Atubolu looks relatively small for a goalkeeper too. But he is actually taller than Hermansen at 6ft 2in.
And the 23-year-old has been putting every inch of his frame to good use lately – record-breaking use in fact.
At the weekend, Atubolu made history by becoming the first goalkeeper to ever save five penalties in a row in the Bundesliga.
In fact research shows he is the first goalkeeper to ever record such a feat in a top flight league.
Atubolu was arguably Freiburg’s best player as they secured Europa League qualification last season, as he became the first ‘keeper in the club’s Bundesliga history to go over 600 minutes without conceding a goal.
His string of spot-kick saves have also cemented his reputation as a ‘penalty killer’.
And he is perhaps now the latest example of West Ham’s mismanaged recruitment.
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