West Ham pulled off ‘perfect’ signing as Graham Potter told newbie ‘will be a success’

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Slowly but surely, Graham Potter’s West Ham United’s squad is starting to take shape ahead of this weekend’s Premier League curtain-raiser.

True, the Hammers cannot match Saturday’s opponents Sunderland when it comes to money spent, or high-profile reinforcements. Granit Xhaka, Simon Adingra and Noah Sadiki are real statement additions for the Black Cats, while West Ham reportedly looked at Habib Diarra themselves before the midfielder’s £30 million switch to Wearside.

Arthur Masuaku has returned to England too, ahead of a potential debut against the club who sold him to Besiktas back in 2023.

Yet, while it would perhaps be a stretch to describe the West Ham United fanbase as ‘optimistic’, a couple of exciting new additions means the mood around the London Stadium is a whole lot brighter now than it was at the beginning of July.

Tony Cottee could not help but recall David Beckham in his Manchester United pomp when watching El Hadji Malick Diouf create both of West Ham’s goals in the pre-season victory over Bournemouth in Atlanta. Kyle Walker-Peters and Callum Wilson add Premier League pedigree and depth, while Mads Hermansen is the goalkeeper Cottee and co were crying out for.

To quote Allan Kuhn, a pundit in Hermansen’s homeland of Denmark, this feels like the ‘perfect’ transfer at the perfect time.

West Ham United is the ‘perfect’ move for ex-Leicester City goalkeeper Mads Hermansen

Just one day after the aforementioned Tony Cottee urged West Ham to replace Alphonse Areola between the sticks, Leicester City accepted an £18 million bid for their former Brondby glovesman.

Mads Hermansen reunites with Casper Ankergren, his mentor at the Superliga outfit and the Hammers’ new lead first-team goalkeeping coach.

Ankergren described Hermansen as a ‘special’ talent back in 2023. Two years on, the now-24-year-old glovesman arrives in London as a more confident, more mature, more rounded footballer.

One who should be an upgrade on Areola in the shot-stopping department and in terms of his distribution.

“He will be the first-choice goalkeeper, and I am convinced that he will be a success,” Kuhn tells Ekstra Bladet. “He is an excellent goalkeeper who will now take the next step from Leicester. It fits perfectly with his current level.”

Hermansen is yet to make his debut for Denmark at senior level. He has, however, been part of the matchday squad on no fewer than 26 occasions, operating as a long-serving back-up to veteran Kasper Schmeichel.

But with the now-Celtic stopper turning 39 in November, Kuhn feels that Hermansen could finally replace him as the nation’s number one. And what a time it would be to do just that, with the World Cup less than 12 months away.

“It depends on how Schmeichel does at Celtic. He still has a routine and experience that Hermansen doesn’t have, but at some point there will be a change,” adds Kuhn, a former Aalborg and FC Midtjylland coach.

“Schmeichel will probably fully understand if Hermansen gets a little closer.”

Hermansen hopes to challenge Celtic veteran Kasper Schmeichel in a World Cup year

Hammers News can confirm that West Ham chose Hermansen over Botafogo’s John Victor despite holding sustained and serious talks with both players. The likes of Zion Suzuki, Michael Zetterer, Aaron Ramsdale and Djordje Petrovic were also considered.

The appointment of Ankergren back in June coincided with Hermansen’s emergence as West Ham’s number one target, however; The former pushing for a reunion with the latter.

“I’m very happy, I’m very proud to be here, and I can’t wait to get started,” Hermansen said on Saturday. “I felt a long time ago that West Ham and I could be a good match. I can definitely see myself playing in the way the team wants to, so it felt natural all the way, so West Ham was a pretty easy choice.

“That’s of course a big dream of mine, to play and represent Denmark.

“I think that would be one of the biggest accomplishments of my career, to play for Denmark, so that’s of course also a plus in going to West Ham and taking that step in my career that I can push for the spot in the national team.”