If there was any sliver of silver lining West Ham United supporters could take from of a Friday night horror show, it’s that the London Stadium may one day be home to one of the brightest goalkeeping talents in England.
Not to join the Mads Hermansen pile-on, but even his most consistent backers would have to admit Graham Potter’s new number one far from covered himself in glory as Chelsea picked off their London rivals with brutal efficiency.
While former keeper Rob Green does sympathise with Hermansen – thrown in in front of a haphazard defence just two weeks and a few training sessions into his West Ham United career – the £18 million signing has certainly been at fault for at least two of the eight goals conceded so far.
West Ham’s most porous start ever to a Premier League campaign.
At the age of just 24, however, Hermansen has plenty of time on his side. Green, speaking 15 years on from that infamous World Cup howler in South Africa, knows more than most about bouncing back from a rock-bottom moment.
In England Under-19 international Finlay Herrick, meanwhile, the Hammers may already have Hermansen’s long-term competitor waiting in the wings.
West Ham United teenager Fin Herrick ‘excellent again’ under Mark Robson
While West Ham’s Under-21s suffered a defeat of their own on Friday night – Mark Robson’s side went down 3-1 to Manchester City – Herrick was a standout performer both with the ball at his feet and in his hands.
Not for the first time this summer, either.
Robson raved about Herrick’s ball-playing talents after a pre-season friendly against Northampton Town in July. One month on, with the competitive stuff starting up again, the England youth glovesman continues his evolution into a modern, all-round goalkeeper with serious potential.
“I’ve got to say, I thought the boys defended really well in the first half. We limited them, made it difficult for them to find gaps, and I felt we were in good shape defensively,” Robson tells the official West Ham website.
“Fin Herrick was excellent again, not just with his shot stopping but also with the ball at his feet. He’s had a really strong start to the season.”
While West Ham enjoyed an impressive Premier League 2 campaign in 2024/25 – finishing fourth – Man City went into the new campaign as reigning champions.
Ryan McAidoo, Reigan Heskey and Justin Oboavwoduo put City 3-0 up at the Joie Stadium. Herrick’s brilliance ensured that West Ham remained in with a shot of a late fightback, however, with Mohamadou Kante eventually reducing the deficit.
Airids Golambeckis, Mohamadou Kante and Herrick give West Ham hope
Like Herrick, former Paris FC sensation Kante has shone in the early weeks of the new season. Robson even drew comparisons with a young Patrick Vieira.
Airidas Golambeckis captained West Ham’s Under-21s again away to City, meanwhile, three months out from his 18th birthday.
“The biggest disappointment for me tonight, and I said it to the boys afterwards, is that I thought we lacked a bit of belief in possession,” Robson added. “We’ve got some really good players who are comfortable on the ball and know how to keep it, but we gave it away too many times.
“Against a side like City, if you keep doing that, eventually they’re going to find those moments. It’s a massive learning curve for us, and I’ve got to say City were impressive.
“When we did play with belief in the last 20 minutes, you saw that we were able to cause them problems. But it wasn’t enough. We needed to do more of that from the start.”
Herrick’s talents are certainly not going unnoticed among the senior staff at Rush Green, meanwhile.
New lead first team goalkeeping coach Casper Ankergren spoke glowingly about the West Ham teenager last week, alongside 17-year-old stopper Lanre Awesu.
“We’ve got a lot of experience within our goalkeeping group,” Ankergren said. “Mads, Alphonse [Areola] and Wes [Foderingham] have a lot of Premier League appearances between them.
“Then you’ve got Fin, who did really, really well last year for the U21s and is a really talented keeper.
“You’ve got Lanre, only 17. He’s trained with us more or less every day and has really taken everything on board. [Awesu] works really, really hard and is a mature boy, and he’s done really well. You wouldn’t think that he’s only 17.
“We’ve got different characters and different styles, but we’ve got a nice dynamic within the group, and it works really, really well.”
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