West Ham host Chelsea this weekend.placeholder image
West Ham host Chelsea this weekend. | Getty Images
Chelsea travel to West Ham on Friday night with Graham Potter confirming who will start in goal.
West Ham manager Graham Potter has confirmed that summer signing Mads Hermansen will start again for the Hammers against Chelsea on Friday night, despite a poor debut between the sticks against Sunderland last weekend.
The former Leicester City man arrived at the London Stadium for £20 million after West Ham were linked with several goalkeeping targets. Hermansen immediately ousted Alphonse Areola from the starting spot as he filled the hole in the squad left following the departure of Lukas Fabianski as a free agent.
West Ham conceded three goals at the Stadium of Light last weekend with Hermansen looking shaky. Nonetheless, Potter has confirmed that he will keep the faith in the player.
Graham Potter confirms West Ham team news
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the former Chelsea and Brighton boss said: “I didn't think I needed a one-on-one chat with Mads after Saturday. He's trained well and he'll play tomorrow.”
West Ham will be without Luis Guilherme on Friday evening but that is the only injury with Crysencio Summerville in line for a return, in a big boost for Potter. Speaking about Hermansen on The Rest Is Football podcast, Leicester City legend Gary Lineker backed him to make an impact.
He said: “Yes, Hermansen was a Leicester goalkeeper of the previous season. They obviously spent quite a few quid on him.
“I mean, I really like him. He’s been a brilliant shot stopper, but it was an awful debut. You thought he could have got the first one, maybe not. But the third one went straight. He tried to push it out and missed it.
“Yes, he had a bad day. I’ve seen a lot of him and I’m confident for West Ham fans that you’ll see much better from him going forward. I think he’s a top keeper.”
Hammers must make ‘huge effort’ against Chelsea
West Ham host a Chelsea side who were held to a 0-0 draw by Crystal Palace on Sunday. In contrast to West Ham, the Blues have invested heavily this summer with big fees on stars such as Joao Pedro, Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens.
Speaking about the challenge posed by Chelsea, Potter said: “It will take a huge effort against Chelsea, a good performance and a bit of luck. We're playing against a talented team, so we have to have a good balance between attack and defence, and give everything.
“Chelsea have a very talented manager and squad, off the back of a very successful summer period. We expect a big challenge.”
In other news, West Ham to ship £35m star out on loan after 'torrid' 24/25 season.
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