Mandas Lazio Transfer Opens Door to New Goalkeeper Search

Mandas Lazio Transfer Option Takes Shape

A decision is coming at Lazio. Christos Mandas is one of the main candidates to leave during the January window.

The Greek goalkeeper isn’t happy about being Ivan Provedel’s backup and would rather try his luck somewhere else. Mandas would be open to working again with Marco Baroni at Torino, while Lazio are prepared to listen, but only under one condition.

Sarri’s made it clear he’s looking for a top-notch replacement before he’ll agree to let him go.

Lazio are still on the lookout, and the person they’re interested in is Mads Hermansen from West Ham. The London club is doing really well with Lazio, especially now they’ve bought Taty Castellanos from Biancocelesti. In Denmark, there have been lots of reports about how he wants to leave London as soon as he can to try his hand at Serie A.

Lazio Goalkeeper Replacement Identified

Sten Christiansen, Hermansen’s goalkeeping coach at Brondby, reckons that the West Ham keeper ability to play out from the back is one of his key strengths. He’s also really responsive, has a good jump and a good grip technique.

If you look at how Hermansen played in the 2023/24 Championship season with Leicester under Enzo Maresca, you’ll see straight away how high his starting position was with his team in possession. He even stood close to the defenders to give them a passing option. It’s really impressive how calm he is when the strikers put pressure on him, sometimes even releasing the ball at the last possible moment.

Hermansen was often right behind the defenders when they were playing out from the back, way outside his penalty area.

Why Hermansen Fits Sarri’s System

He was always really patient and liked to build from the back, and he was cool to have on the ball near his goal line. Even when the other team were putting the pressure on him, he still found a team-mate.

He hasn’t had much luck at West Ham so far. He only played in five games for the Hammers, who’ve had a bit of a rough season so far. Nuno Espirito Santo doesn’t seem too keen on him, as he always prefers to use Alphonse Areola.