Credit: Imago

Samuel Fabre

Tue 24 March 2026 10:10, UK

West Ham United‘s goalkeepers have had to make the most saves in the Premier League this season.

The Hammers secured a valuable point when they drew to Manchester City, but Sunday’s 2-0 loss to Aston Villa has done them no favours in the relegation battle.

With seven games to go, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have a lot of work to do as they remain 18th, one point adrift of safety.

They have conceded 57 goals this season, and their total of four clean sheets is the joint-lowest, along with Burnley and Wolves.

West Ham are clearly in danger of being relegated, and their inability to prevent opposing teams from having shots on their goal has proven to be very costly.

West Ham’s goalkeepers have had to save the most shots in the Premier League

While the Hammers haven’t defended well, one of the biggest talking points has been the goalkeeper situation.

It has created uncertainty in the backline, and although Mads Hermansen is the current number one, there is a valid argument for Alphonse Areola to be starting.

Against Villa, West Ham failed to close down John McGinn’s curling strike from the edge of the area, while Ollie Watkins’ goal was the result of Morgan Rogers’ shot that wasn’t dealt with by the Dane.

According to Sofascore, West Ham’s goalkeepers have saved 114 shots combined in 2025-26, which is more than any other team’s shot-stoppers put together.

Hermansen replaced Areola at the start of this season after joining the Hammers from Leicester City, but the Frenchman quickly regained his spot in the team.

However, the Dane was reinstated to the starting line-up by Nuno Espirito Santo in a 2-0 win over Burnley in January.

Hermansen still hasn’t proven his worth to West Ham fans, and it’s not a shock that the Hammers are facing so many shots on goal.

Other teams have found out that the Hammers don’t have a settled goalkeeper, and if they do go down, the inability to address that issue will be a key reason.

Who should start for West Ham: Alphonse Areola or Mads Hermansen?

Areola has recorded 3.9 saves per 90 minutes, which is more than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League.

However, the Frenchman has an expected goals (xG) prevented total of -1.40, and hasn’t looked assured in between the sticks.

As for Hermansen, he made concerning mistakes in the heavy defeats to Chelsea and Sunderland at the start of the season, but has somewhat redeemed himself in recent weeks.

Although the 25-year-old’s performance against Villa was far from good enough, he has kept all of West Ham’s clean sheets so far.

His xG prevented is currently -3.03, and between them, both goalkeepers have cost the Hammers nearly five goals this campaign.

Areola probably edges it in terms of the stats, but unfortunately, Nuno has already made his mind up on the 33-year-old.

The bottom line is that neither shot-stopper has covered themselves in glory, and with relegation on the cards, the whole defensive unit needs to do much better.