Where Mads Hermansen ranks among West Ham’s most expensive ever players as fee agreed
West Ham are set to complete the signing of Leicester City goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.
The Dane is set to undergo a medical on Friday (8 August), after a deal reportedly worth around £20m was agreed with the Foxes.
West Ham looked set to sign Botafogo goalkeeper John Victor, but have now pulled out after agreeing a fee for the 29-year-old.
Hermansen will become West Ham’s fourth new signing of the summer, following moves for Callum Wilson, Kyle Walker-Peters, and El Hadji Malick Diouf.
Hermansen among the top 15 most expensive West Ham signings
Hermansen was one of the very few bright spots for Leicester City last season, impressing on several occasions despite the Foxes’ struggle for points.
One standout performance came in a 4-2 loss to Arsenal early in the season, when the Dane made headlines for his 13 saves.
Leicester were thought to be holding out for a significant fee for the goalkeeper this summer, but West Ham have managed to negotiate a deal for Hermansen that is worth around £20m, according to BBC Sport (7 August).
That places Hermansen around 15th place in the list of West Ham’s most expensive signings, with midfielder Lucas Paqueta’s £51m move standing as the Hammers’ record outlay.
| West Ham’s most expensive signings |
| 1. Lucas Paqueta – £51m |
| 2. Sebastian Haller – £45m |
| 3. Nikola Vlasic – £40m |
| 4. Gianluca Scamacca – £35.5m |
| 5. Felipe Anderson – £34.2m |
| 6. Nayef Aguerd – £31.5m |
| 7, Kurt Zouma – £29.8m |
| 8. Maxwell Cornet – £27m |
| 9. Pablo Fornals – £25.2m |
| 15. Mads Hermansen – £20m |
Completing the top five is the £45m signing of Sebastian Haller, Nikola Vlasic, who arrived for around £40m and Gianluca Scamacca and Felipe Anderson, with both of those deals amounting to around £35m each.
The fee for Hermansen places the Dane among a group of signings that includes Jarrod Bowen and Dimitri Payet, but West Ham will hope the goalkeeper proves to be a better signing than some of the other entries.
Andre Ayew, Said Benrahma, Danny Ings and Issa Diop also cost similar amounts, and ultimately left the London Stadium without much to remember them by.
Hermansen deal represents shrewd business
Much will be made of the way West Ham have gone about their business to sign Hermansen, with some rumours suggesting negotiations for Victor were used as a smokescreen.
But the fee is hard to argue with for a goalkeeper as talented as the 25-year-old.
Hermansen will provide a reliable presence in between the sticks for West Ham, and his ability on the ball is certain to fit with Graham Potter’s tactical mould.
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