Mads Hermansen proves he can be West Ham saviour as stats emerge from Fulham
Mads Hermansen’s revival at West Ham has been a real turning point in the Hammers’ push to avoid relegation.
The Danish goalkeeper’s start at London Stadium did not go well, where he conceded 11 goals across the opening four Premier League matches, before being dropped.
However, Hermansen has had the chance to save his career in E20, with Nuno Espirito Santo turning to the 25-year-old as they seek to climb out of the drop zone in recent weeks.
The summer signing has started the last five matches in the league, and the differences in keeping the ball out of the net have been clear to see.
Hermansen’s performance against Fulham may have been the shining light as to how he could be key in West Ham’s survival hopes.
How stats show Mads Hermansen produced his best display for West Ham
Hermansen had a busy evening at Craven Cottage, but the West Ham number one did not let that faze him throughout the game.
The 26-year-old stepped up in a big way for Nuno’s side, and he was crucial to the Hammers’ ability to claim all three points in this London derby.
Data revealed by The Athletic showed that Hermansen faced the second-highest number of shots (five) of any of his appearances this season, while he also hit a season high of five saves and a goals prevented total of 0.65.
Additionally, the Dane appeared to be confident on the ball against the Cottagers; as per Sofascore, he completed 96 per cent of his passes inside West Ham’s half.
Overall, those types of performances will be key to keeping the Hammers in the Premier League, and if he can continue to perform at that level, Hermansen may end up being West Ham’s saviour.
Hermansen’s performance vs Fulham was not a one-off
However, while this performance may have embodied how vital Hermansen could be, fans have been seeing signs of his importance ever since his re-emergence into the starting line-up.
In his five games since coming back into the fold, West Ham have kept three clean sheets.
Although the sample size is small, Hermansen’s four total clean sheets this season in nine appearances place him fourth for clean sheet percentage.
Furthermore, while he did concede five goals to Liverpool at Anfield, there does have to be sympathy due to how those goals were scored.
Three of the Reds’ goals were deflected, leaving Hermansen with little time to react.
However, Nuno will be delighted that he can rely on the Dane throughout the rest of the season.
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