Leicester City are laughing loudest at £20m West Ham agreement as surprise news emerges | OneFootball

West Ham have made a key decision about former Leicester player Mads Hermansen

Former Leicester City goalkeeper Mads Hermansen’s future at new club West Ham is already uncertain just three months after making the £20 million move, which will have the Foxes laughing to the bank.

According to Hammers News, the goalkeeper has fallen down the pecking order upon the arrival of Nuno Espirito Santo as manager.

It was reported in the summer that the shot stopper was sold following the agreement of a £20 million fee between the two sides.

Hermansen was a key figure for the Foxes, and played an important role in their 2024 promotion to the Premier League under Enzo Maresca.

The Dane featured 71 times in the league for Leicester prior to his move to the London outfit, where he has played just four of their opening 11 league fixtures.

Hermansen earned a lot of praise for his performances during his time at the King Power Stadium, even as the team suffered relegation back to the second division after just one year under Ruud van Nistelrooy.

His departure was seen as a blow by supporters, with the team now aiming to earn promotion back to the top flight, but his plight at West Ham shows that they have gotten the best side of the deal from the summer.

West Ham are reportedly considering a move to offload Hermansen from the first team squad following the emergence of Alphonse Areola as first-choice goalkeeper under Espirito Santo.

It’s been claimed that Graham Potter pushed for the signing of the Dane following Lukas Fabianski’s departure in the summer.

However, the English coach has since been replaced after a disappointing start to the Premier League season, with the inconsistent Areola taking his place.

The former PSG player is in the final stages of his career, and it's difficult to imagine someone of his current calibre playing regularly at any other Premier League club, which highlights how lowly Hermansen is thought of by his new manager.

In that context, Leicester will be very pleased to have earned £20 million from the deal, with West Ham believed to be suffering a sudden and extreme example of buyer’s remorse.

It’s understood that Hermansen is surplus to requirements, with the Premier League club making the decision just a few months after agreeing a deal with the Foxes to sign him, and with only four top flight appearances under his belt for the Hammers.

Jakub Stolarczyk has been the first-choice at Leicester under Martí Cifuentes, although Asmir Begovic started their recent 2-1 win over Norwich City due to an injury absence, and he has been a solid, if unspectacular, option in Hermansen's place.

Cifuentes’ side are currently 12th in the Championship table following a run of underwhelming form, which has left them four points adrift of the play-off places, but it is not just the goalkeeper that has led to this poor set of results.

Leicester City did well off Mads Hermansen deal

The £20 million deal to sell Hermansen was good business by Leicester, particularly given they didn’t have a lot of leverage due to their financial position.

This sale helped ease the pressure on their books, while also allowing them a better chance at keeping some of their more important stars.

Players like Stephy Mavididi, Harry Winks and Abdul Fatawu all remained despite pressure on the club to generate funds, and it was Hermansen's sale that played an important role in that.

It’s been a difficult start to the season, and Leicester aren’t blessed with the greatest of options now, but the sale was still ultimately the right decision. Ultimately, the decision to let Daniel Iversen leave for free, given his form across the Championship with Preston North End, feels more of a mistake in the goalkeeping department.

That Hermansen is now struggling for game time at West Ham shows that the Foxes are better off having cashed in when they did, as they might not have gotten £20 million at another time.