West Ham agree personal terms with “unreal” £35m star

Could a few new signings lift the mood of West Ham United supporters?

So far, Hammers fans have not been too pleased with their side’s summer business, most notably selling star attacker Mohammed Kudus to fierce London rivals Tottenham for a reported fee of £55m.

Meantime, having won only five of 19 matches in charge following his appointment in January, Graham Potter immediately begins the new season as a man under pressure.

On the pitch in pre-season, his team were beaten 2-1 by Manchester United in their Premier League Summer Series opener in East Rutherford, before defeating Everton 2-1 in Chicago on Wednesday; Lucas Paquetá and Niclas Füllkrug were on target in Illinois.

So, ahead of the conclusion of their US tour on Sunday, taking on Bournemouth at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, will West Ham supporters have another new signing to be excited about?

West Ham searching for new signings

This weekend, West Ham unveiled their third new signing of the summer, announcing the arrival of Callum Wilson on a free transfer from Newcastle.

The 33-year-old England international has scored more career goals against the Irons than any other club, which might have been part of the attraction.

So, having bolstered their attacking options, will they now turn their attention to the other end of the pitch?

Well, according to a report by The Sun, West Ham have agreed personal terms with goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, amid interest from Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Burnley.

The outlet adds that the clubs are keen to get a deal over the line as quickly as possible, and this latest update has given them an advantage over their rivals in the race to sign the shot-stopper.

Elsewhere, Ben Jacobs of Give Me Sport notes that Leicester City value their goalkeeper at £35m, but have already signed a potential replacement, following Asmir Begović’s arrival from Everton, seemingly preparing for his departure.

Dharmesh Sheth and Rob Dorsett of Sky Sports News add that West Ham’s new goalkeeper coach Casper Ankergren is pushing to make the move happen, having previously worked with Hermansen at Brøndby, so could the Dane soon swap the East Midlands for East London?

How Mads Hermansen would improve West Ham

It is little surprise that West Ham are in the market for a new goalkeeper this summer.

40-year-old Łukasz Fabiański has been released as a free agent, while neither he nor Alphonse Areola, who remains at the club, were particularly impressive last season, as the table below documents.

As the table emphasises, neither of West Ham’s two goalkeepers stood out last season, with the now-departed Fabiański actually ranked higher for a few key metrics.

So, would Hermansen represent a clear upgrade?

Well, his most eye-catching performance of last season came against Arsenal in September, making 13 saves, the most by any goalkeeper in a Premier League fixture since David de Gea, also against Arsenal, in December 2017, as noted by James Benge of CBS.

After this match, analyst Ben Mattinson praised his “unreal performance”, while Rob Tanner of the Athletic labeled him a ‘a safe pair of hands’ who is also capable of ‘contributing hugely with the ball at his feet’.

So, let’s assess his own Premier League statistics from last season.

While many of Hermansen’s statistics last season may not all leap off the page, it is worth noting that he was playing for an absolutely hopeless Leicester side, with his post-shot xG – goals conceded figure of +1.4 the most interesting number, underlining his excellent shot-stopping ability.

So, why would the Dane be a better signing than Wilson?

Well, the veteran striker accumulated a mere 458 minutes on the pitch last season due to various injury issues, so while his quality isn’t in question, Wilson has never been reliable in terms of fitness and availability.

He also isn’t guaranteed to start, given that Füllkrug and talisman Jarrod Bowen have seemingly formed a decent partnership during pre-season.

Hermansen, on the other hand, would surely arrive as the undisputed number one from day one, given Areola’s decline, and would represent a massive upgrade on what Potter already has at his disposal.