West Ham United announced on 9 August 2025 that they have completed the signing of Danish goalkeeper Mads Hermansen from Leicester City, in a move believed to be worth around £18 million, with some sources suggesting up to £20 million.
The 25-year-old has put pen to paper on a five-year contract, with an option for an additional year, and will wear the No. 1 shirt.
Hermansen’s arrival marks West Ham’s fifth permanent signing of the summer, following the acquisitions of Jean-Clair Todibo, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Kyle Walker-Peters, and Callum Wilson.
With Lukasz Fabianski released at the end of last season, and uncertainty around Alphonse Areola’s long-term prospects, the club’s priority to reinforce between the posts has now been addressed.
Born 11 July 2000 in Odense, Denmark, Hermansen began his youth career with Næsby before joining Brøndby’s academy in 2015. He made his senior debut in late 2020 and subsequently became the club’s first-choice goalkeeper in 2021, winning Brøndby’s Player of the Year award in 2022. He featured in European competition and made around 70 appearances across all competitions.
In the summer of 2023, Hermansen transferred to Leicester City, where he played a pivotal role in their EFL Championship title win during the 2023–24 season, keeping 13 clean sheets in 44 games and earning a place in the Championship Team of the Season.
Despite Leicester’s immediate relegation back to the Championship in 2024–25, Hermansen’s performances—including over 100 saves in the Premier League—continued to earn praise.
Upon joining West Ham, Hermansen reflected on the move: “I’m happy to join West Ham United. I’ve felt that West Ham would be a good fit for me and my style of play for a long time. It feels natural to be here—it was a very easy decision. I’ve heard a lot of great things about the club. I played West Ham twice last season and playing at London Stadium was a great experience. It’s an amazing stadium with loud, passionate fans. It’s what you dream of as a footballer and I can’t wait to play in front of 62,500 fans as a West Ham player. The fans can expect me to be brave and bring good energy to help the team in the best way I can. This is a great step in my career. I have huge ambitions and I can’t wait to get started.”
Manager Graham Potter highlighted Hermansen’s strengths, stating: “We are pleased to welcome Mads to West Ham United. Mads has proved his quality at Leicester City with two impressive campaigns on a personal level over the last couple of years and the exciting thing is that we feel his best years are still ahead of him. His shot-stopping ability and distribution are strengths to his game, and he has a fantastic attitude with a clear desire to keep improving, which is something we place a high value on with our players. We have real strength in depth within the goalkeeping department at the moment, and I have no doubt that Mads will be a fantastic addition to the group moving forwards.”
The move also triggers a sell-on payment to Brøndby—reported to be around £1.2 million—underlining the strength of ties between the clubs and acknowledging Hermansen’s developmental roots.
West Ham’s pursuit of Hermansen followed a parallel negotiation for Botafogo’s John Victor, which eventually fell through due to mismatched expectations from intermediaries, further spotlighting Potter’s conviction in signing Hermansen as his primary goalkeeper target.