As promising as Mads Hermansen may have been during the second 45 minutes of West Ham 2-0 win at Burnley, Nuno Espirito Santo has a difficult decision to make ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Manchester United.
In the build-up to the midweek meeting, we at Hammers News asked our readers – via our new TalkingPoints platform – to tell us who you would pick between the sticks.
Nuno has been urged to recall Alphonse Areola by large sections of the West Ham United fanbase, even if Hermansen did impress some supporters at Turf Moor. A tricky start was followed by a much improved second half; the Dane pulled off a vital stop to deny Zian Flemming from point-blank range as Burnley threatened to do to Nuno Espirito Santo’s side what Chelsea did seven days earlier.
Who are you starting in goal against Manchester United?! 🧤
A split image showing Alphonse Areola and Mads Hermansen's appearance stats for West Ham United this season.
Credit: Getty Images/ Julian Finney/Izzy Poles – AMA
But, after a first Premier League outing in five months coincided with West Ham’s first clean sheet since August, will Mads Hermansen keep his place against Michael Carrick’s Champions League-chasing Manchester United?
Former Denmark internationals Peter Kjaer and Brian Laudrup certainly hope so.
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Former Denmark stars back Mads Hermansen to keep his place at West Ham United
If the goalkeeping situation at West Ham is far from ideal – neither Alphonse Areola nor Mads Hermansen have made the starting spot their own – then the same can be said of the Danish national team.
With the World Cup only a few months away, Kasper Schmeichel has come under fire at Celtic while Filip Jorgensen is out of favour at Chelsea. Hermansen reclaiming his place in the West Ham XI and helping the Londoners overhaul Nottingham Forest in 17th, then, would be a very welcome sight in this corner of Scandinavia.
Mads Hermansen playing for West Ham against QPR in the FA Cup.
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
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“It was fantastic [to see Hermansen back in the team], but I was surprised,” Kjaer tells Viaplay. “It would be reckless to change again when he has just had a clean sheet.”
West Ham only have two clean sheets this season, and both came with the former Leicester City glovesman between the sticks.
Jarrod Bowen singled out Hermansen for praise at Turf Moor – he stood strong as Burnley threatened to halve the deficit during a period of pressure after the half-time interval – while Nuno hailed the summer signing’s determination and discipline behind the scenes.
“I saw a goalkeeper who hasn’t started since September 13, almost five months,” adds Laudrup, the former Rangers, Chelsea and Bayern Munich midfielder. “He hesitated in some situations at the start, you could see that.
“The timing of the interventions was a bit rusty to say the least. It’s completely natural when you’ve been out for so long. Match training is something else.
“[But, in the end], he delivered a really good game.”
Here’s my hot take….
Doing a great job at Old Trafford – but there’s no way he’d have been a better fit to get us out of this mess than Nuno…
A graphic asking fans to 'prove us wrong' on the argument that Michael Carrick would do a worse job than Nuno Espirito Santo at West Ham.
Credit: Getty Images/Carl Recine
Jarrod Bowen singled out Hermansen after West Ham beat Burnley
Tuesday’s opponents Manchester United have scored the most goals from set-piece situations in the entire Premier League; their ‘ethical hoops’ a far cry from Arsenal’s rugby-style penalty-box bullying.
The concern will be that Hermansen has looked at his most vulnerable when dealing with crosses into the box. Nuno has lauded Alphonse Areola’s ability to deal with corners and free-kicks too, the Frenchman offering greater physicality and a better command of his penalty area.
Therein lies the dilemma, then, ahead of tonight’s 8.15pm kick-off at the London Stadium.
“I thought we did a really professional job,” Bowen told BBC Sport after Crysencio Summerville and Taty Castellanos powered the Hammers to victory in Lancashire. “We had to ride our luck at times and defend well, but two really good goals and a clean sheet away from home is a really good result for us.
“You’ve got to ride your luck at times in football. I thought Mads made some really good saves but, on the whole, we played well away from home today.”
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