Unsurprisingly, new West Ham United goalkeeper Mads Hermansen was quick to credit Casper Ankergren after completing his £18 million move from Leicester City on Saturday.
Hammers News confirmed all the way back in June, when the former Leeds United and Brighton and Hove Albion glovesman returned to England to join Graham Potter’s coaching staff, that Casper Ankergren was pushing for Mads Hermansen’s arrival.
Coach and player are now officially reunited, two years after the Dane made that bargain £5 million switch from Brondby to Leicester City.
Ankergren described Hermansen as an ‘amazing’ talent during the 24-year-old’s final few weeks at the Superliga outfit.
But speaking to the club’s official website during his official unveiling as a West Ham United player, the club’s new number one – literally [he takes Lukasz Fabianski’s old shirt] – Mads Hermansen opened up on the discussions he had with another compatriot prior to boarding a flight to East London.
Mads Hermansen during Leicester City v ACF Fiorentina - Pre-Season Friendly
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
West Ham United newbie Mads Hermansen spoke to Frederik Alves and Casper Ankergren
Hermansen needs to play only once – his debut could come on Saturday against newly-promoted Sunderland – to exceed the tally of Premier League appearances made by Frederik Alves.
Former teammates at Brondby and with the Denmark Under-21 side, Hermansen spoke to the Silkeborg graduate recently.
And, while West Ham sold Alves for just £1 million before he had even made his top-flight debut, it appears that the now-25-year-old centre-back had only good words to say about his old employers.
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“I’m very happy. I’m very proud to be here, and I can’t wait to get started,” Hermansen begins. “I felt a long time ago that West Ham and I could be a good match.
“I can definitely see myself playing in the way the team wants to, so it felt natural all the way, so West Ham was a pretty easy choice.
“It’s very special. One of my good friends, Frederik Alves, who I played with at Brondby, was the last one to be here, so I heard a lot of great things about the club. I can’t wait.”
Hermansen on Ankergren influence as Alphonse Areola loses grip on number one shirt
On Ankergren, Hermansen said a couple of years ago that West Ham’s newly-appointed Lead First-Team Goalkeeping Coach had ‘helped to raise my level and challenge me, not only technically but also mentally’.
Flash forward to 2025, and Ankergren will be hoping to pick up where he left off as he gets his mitts on the one-time Danish Superliga champion again.
“I worked a few years with him at Brondby,” Hermansen says on Ankergren. “I think we share the way we think about goalkeeping, and we share the way we see football. So there’s a good match there, and I can’t wait to keep developing with him.”
“I haven’t spoken to [Graham Potter] yet, but I’ve spoken to Ankergren, and I’ve been filled in on what the head coach expects from me.”
While Alphonse Areola appeared to hand Hermansen a warm welcome as the former joined training for the first time, his arrival means the former Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Fulham ‘keeper is likely to lose his place between the sticks on the eve of a new season.
West Ham chose Hermansen over Botafogo’s John Victor after holding sustained and serious talks for both players, while Hammers legend Tony Cottee is delighted to see Areola replaced following an error-prone campaign for the experienced Frenchman.