West Ham United have reportedly reached an agreement with Leicester City to sign goalkeeper Mads Hermansen this summer.
Graham Potter is keen to bolster his squad further having already signed Callum Wilson, Kyle Walker-Peters, El Hadji Malick Diouf and Jean-Clair Todibo, the latter of whom has joined permanently after a season on loan.
Reinforcing the goalkeeping department is through to be high on Potter’s wishlist, with **a recent report**claiming that the Hammers have a verbal agreement in place with Botafogo to sign Brazilian shot-stopper John.
According to Sky Sports News, West Ham progressed towards a deal for John after initially walking away from negotiations with Leicester over signing their number one Hermansen, with the two clubs said to have been a long way apart on his valuation last week.
However, it is now understood that dialogue between West Ham and Leicester continued in the background and a compromise price of £18m has been agreed, following the Hammers’ initial bid of £13m.
Hermansen will not be available for Leicester’s opening Championship fixture of the 2025-26 season against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday, as he is expected to travel to London and undergo a medical with West Ham on Friday.
West Ham United's Alphonse Areola on August 3, 2025
Hermansen arrival could spell danger for Areola at West Ham
Hermansen has spent the last two seasons at Leicester where he has made a total of 72 appearances across all competitions, keeping 14 clean sheets.
The 25-year-old, who is yet to represent Denmark at international level, kept 13 of those clean sheets across 44 matches in Leicester’s 2023-24 Championship title-winning season under former boss Enzo Maresca.
However, Hermansen could only register one shutout and conceded 58 goals in 27 Premier League games last season as the Foxes suffered immediate relegation back to the second tier.
Nevertheless, West Ham seemingly admire Hermansen and his pending arrival at the London Stadium, along with John, could spell danger for the Hammers’ current first-choice goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
The 32-year-old Frenchman was favoured over Lukasz Fabianski last season and played 26 times in the Premier League as the Hammers settled for a 14th-placed finish.
However, Areola has made a few notable errors in recent games, most recently making two costly errors in a 2-1 pre-season defeat to Manchester United just under a fortnight ago, leading to criticism and raising questions about his long-term position between the sticks.
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