Five of West Ham United’s new summer signings featured during Sunday’s 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest. Whisper it, but is Graham Potter’s squad starting to take shape at last?
One thing is certain, Potter’s roster looks a whole lot sight stronger now, following the close of the transfer window, than it did when the Hammers suffered a humiliating opening defeat by newly-promoted Sunderland.
Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa both arrived since then to beef up the midfield. Given the way former West Ham target Habib Diarra ran the show for the Black Cats that mid-August afternoon, the duel signing of Fernandes and Magassa is a classic case of ‘better late than never’.
Igor Julio then took the place, and the shirt number, of Nayef Aguerd on deadline day.
While hardly the sort of signing which gets hairs standing up on end, doubt the big, self-confident Brazilian at your peril. To quote Brighton coach Fabian Hurzeler, Igor Julio a rather ‘special’ ability to adapt to any circumstance and any challenge put to him.
As for Mads Hermansen, will a maiden West Ham United clean sheet be the turning point? By the time Hermansen faces off against Tottenham Hotspur on September 13th, he could have a Premier League award sitting pride of place on his mantelpiece too.
West Ham United’s Mads Hermansen nominated for Premier League award
Yes, the £18 million signing from Leicester City conceded eight goals in his first two Hammers matches. At least two of those – Wilson Isidor’s for Sunderland and Moises Caicedo’s for Chelsea – were directly his fault.
And some have aimed the blame at him for a few of the other six, as well.
Yet, while Hermansen has clearly struggled with commanding his penalty area thus far, that he is one of six nominees of August’s Save of the Month award demonstrates the sort of one-v-one reflexes upon which a solid shot-stopper can build his reputation.
As the aforementioned Diarra burst through, leaving Aguerd in his wake, Hermansen instinctively threw out his left arm and deflected a powerful strike into the stands from verging on point-blank range.
Ok, he would go on to concede three unanswered goals during the second-half against Sunderland, but Hermansen had already bailed out West Ham’s porous backline once by the time Eliezer Mayenda opened the scoring.
Hermansen sets out 2026 plan as Hammers newbie aims for World Cup spot
Of course, a Save of the Month award would not be enough on its own to distract from what has been a pretty punishing start. If a big-money striker only scores once all season but it is a stunning 30-yard volley, you still couldn’t call him a success.
But a clean sheet in a much more commanding display at the City Ground, followed by an award to mark his one-month anniversary as a West Ham player, and Hermansen’s confidence should start to recover in time for Spurs.
His rivals for the monthly gong, meanwhile, are Wolves’ Jose Sa, Fulham’s Bernd Leno, Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario and Manchester City’s James Trafford. Nottingham Forest glovesman Matz Sels also makes the six-man shortlist after tipping over a Lucas Paqueta drive last weekend.
“It’s definitely a lovely afternoon here in Nottingham!” a relieved Hermansen told the official Hammers website after watching Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Callum Wilson seal a much-needed first win of 2025/26.
“We’re just happy to finally get on the board, both with a clean sheet and three goals, three points. It’s an amazing feeling.
“I think it was a pretty decent performance from everyone, from the team. We defended really, really well. We only allowed them a few crosses, a few shots on goal from positions where we could handle it. So, overall, I’m just really, really happy with the performance.
“As we spoke about in the dressing room, I think we still have so much more to give as a group, quality-wise on the ball. So, we will definitely take our team performances to a higher level.”
Out in Denmark for this month’s World Cup qualifiers, meanwhile, Mads Hermansen expressed his desire to overtake Kasper Schmeichel as the nation’s number one in time for the 2026 tournament.
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