Forget Illan Meslier, Leicester City must sign ‘fantastic’ Championship star as West Ham eye Mads Hermansen

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Leicester City are in the market for a new goalkeeper, with number one Mads Hermansen being targeted by West Ham United.

Leicester City are in a period of transition this summer after suffering relegation to the Championship last season.

After Ruud van Nistelrooy left the Foxes last month, Marti Cifuentes was unveiled by Leicester to spearhead the club’s quest for instant promotion back to the top flight.

Within the former QPR manager’s first weeks in charge, the Foxes hierarchy are braced for several high-profile exits this summer, including in the goalkeeping department.

This week, Leicester have reportedly “discussed” a move for Leeds United keeper Illan Meslier, but a certain Championship shot-stopper would surely be a far better option for the Foxes.

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Leicester City should sign Viktor Johansson ahead of Illan Meslier

This week, EFL Analysis revealed via information from Chief Football correspondent Graeme Bailey, that West Ham want Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, with a bid expected for the 25-year-old.

West Ham’s interest in the Foxes’ shot-stopper is mutual, with Bailey also adding that Hermansen “wants to join West Ham” to call time on his two-year stint at the King Power Stadium.

At Cifuentes’ side, Asmir Begovic is close to a Leicester reunion, and with the search for Hermansen’s replacement beginning, reports emerged that Leicester have “discussed” signing Meslier from Leeds following the Whites’ second tier title win.

Bailey also explained that West Ham considered Stoke City goalkeeper Viktor Johansson before settling on Hermansen as the “top choice”, and it is the Potters’ shot-stopper who Leicester should target instead of Meslier.

Although Johansson conceded more goals and kept fewer clean sheets than Meslier in the Championship last season, the Swede was playing behind a far weaker defence.

However, it is the goals prevented statistic for the two goalkeepers, which proves why Leicester must prefer a move for Johansson over Meslier.

Goals prevented is a metric which quantifies how well a goalkeeper stops shots compared to what would be expected based on the quality of those shots.

With Johansson’s goals prevented being almost 13 higher than Meslier’s, it proves that the Swedish international has the safest pair of hands.

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Leicester City would be signing a ‘top goalkeeper’ in Viktor Johansson

Since arriving at Stoke from Rotherham in the summer of 2024, Johansson cemented himself as one of the best Championship players last season for his efforts between the posts for the Potters.

Without Johansson’s goalkeeping exploits, Mark Robins’ side would likely have been relegated to League One.

After he impressed during a 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers last season, Robins told Stoke Live of Johansson: “Fantastic saves. The one where he’s dived to his left and it’s in, but he’s got there and clawed it out. I thought it was really good.

“He’s a top goalkeeper. He’s a top kid, a top goalkeeper, and I’m delighted we’ve got him.”

Last season, Johansson made the second-most saves per 90 minutes (3.3) and ranked second for goals prevented (10.9) only behind Burnley keeper James Trafford.

The statistics and the eye test show that the Stoke shot-stopper would be a more promising addition to Cifuentes’ squad instead of Meslier.