West Ham United is delighted to confirm the signing of Danish goalkeeper Mads Hermansen from Leicester City.
The 25-year-old joins the Hammers on a five-year contract with a one-year option, adding proven Premier League quality to the squad and reuniting him with lead goalkeeper coach Casper Ankergren, who he developed under at Danish Superliga club Brøndby IF.
Hermansen starred at Brøndby, winning Player of the Year in 2022, then was named in the EFL Championship Team of the Year as Leicester won the title in 2023/24. Last season, he made over 100 Premier League saves for the Foxes, and has now chosen to continue his career in England’s top-flight with the Hammers.
“I’m happy to join West Ham United”, said Hermansen, who will wear the No1 shirt. “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.”
Head Coach Graham Potter is happy to have beaten off competition from a number of leading clubs to secure Hermansen’s services, and is looking forward to adding him to his squad.
“We are pleased to welcome Mads to West Ham United,” said Potter. “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 in 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.”
Born in Odense in July 2000, Hermansen joined local club Næsby Boldklub as a schoolboy, before moving to Copenhagen-based Brøndby’s Academy at the age of 15 in 2015.
Hermansen made his senior Brøndby debut in 2020 before becoming first-team starter under the guidance of coach Ankergren in 2021/22. He was rewarded with the club’s Player of the Year Award in 2022 and made 70 appearances across two-plus seasons, including eleven in UEFA competitions.
In summer 2023, Hermansen transferred to Leicester and immediately made his mark, keeping 13 clean sheets and conceding just 41 goals in 44 appearances as the Foxes won the EFL Championship title. His performances won him a place in the 2023/24 Championship Team of the Season alongside new West Ham teammates Kyle Walker-Peters and Crysencio Summerville, who were then with Southampton and Leeds United respectively.
Despite Leicester’s struggles in the Premier League in 2024/25, Hermansen caught the eye, making numerous saves, including seven in a miraculous home win over West Ham in December 2024.
At international level, Hermansen has been capped by Denmark at every age-group level from U16s to U21s, earning 28 caps in total and traveling to the UEFA European U21 Championship finals in 2021. He earned a first senior callup in 2023 and has been named in a dozen squads by Denmark managers Kasper Hjulmand, who took him to UEFA Euro 2024, Lars Knudsen and Brian Riemer.
Hermansen becomes West Ham’s fifth permanent summer signing following the arrivals of Jean-Clair Todibo, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Kyle Walker-Peters and Callum Wilson.
Everyone at West Ham United would like to welcome Mads to London Stadium and wish him every success for his career in Claret and Blue.
