For those arguing that Alphonse Areola remains the superior shot-stopper, well, Mads Hermansen issued an emphatic riposte while collecting another Premier League clean sheet during West Ham United’s 1-0 win at Fulham.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s survivalists have now kept four clean sheets in 2025/26. And all of them have come with Mads Hermansen between the sticks.
Talk about justifying your inclusion; Craven Cottage the scene of the summer’s signings best, most complete performance in a Hammers jersey.
How do you feel about Mads Hermansen NOW? 🇩🇰 🧤
Has he won you over? Or are there still doubts?
Now, there are still some fans who feel Alphonse Areola should return to West Ham United’s XI, pointing to his superior save percentage.
But another, more important stat tells a very different tale story.
Hermansen has as many clean sheets in seven league games [four] as the veteran Frenchman has in 38, a run which goes all the way back to late-2024.
Mads Hermansen was ‘brilliant’ as West Ham United beat Fulham
Areola was beaten in every one of his 20 appearances before Nuno re-called Hermansen for the win at Burnley last month.
Now, it should not be forgotten that Areola bailed his error-prone defence out on more than one occasion towards the back end of 2025. Without his occasional heroics – the 2-2 draw at Bournemouth comes to mind – the Hammers might have been all-but dead and buried by the end of winter.
But on a night when Hermansen pulled off a ‘massive, massive’ save to deny a Josh King leveller, this felt like one of those moments the fans could look back on in May as a potential sliding doors moment.
“Brilliant save,” Robbie Savage said during TNT Sports’ live coverage, the former Leicester City glovesman reacting at the speed of sound to claw away an effort destined for the bottom corner.
“He must have seen it late as well. That is a great save. Brilliant, brilliant save. A massive save for West Ham United.”
Once he had calmed himself down and stopped the steam pouring out of his ears – Marco Silva felt Mateus Fernandes should have seen red on the brink of half-time while also hitting out at a penalty overturned after the interval – the home head coach even paid a reluctant tribute to West Ham’s number one.
Furious Marco Silva admits Hermansen was the difference
What on earth was Marco Silva watching? 🤪
Fulham boss thinks Fernandes should've seen red… 🟥
While Bernd Leno’s howler gifted Crysencio Summerville the winner, Hermansen was the hero on contrasting night for the goalkeepers.
Not just in the 90th minute, but towards the end of the opening 45 as well. Hermansen’s iron-like wrist kept King off the scoresheet at the death, but it was a David de Gea-style jerk of the leg which denied the youngster the opener much earlier in proceedings.
A deep dive into the stats suggest that there may be another, more tactical reason, why West Ham tend to keep so many more clean sheets with Hermansen starting than Areola.
Quite simply, West Ham concede fewer shots on goal with the former starting. Nuno highlighted Hermansen’s distribution as a key factor behind his re-call, and the Dane certainly enables the Hammers to keep possession and play through the lines with far greater success.
The opposition can’t shoot when they don’t have the ball, right?
Though, on a potentially season-defining evening West London, Hermansen proved that this very modern goalkeeper does have a few more traditional attributes in his locker.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
