Mads Hermansen

Hermansen looks for the short pass before he even considers going long, which lets West Ham build attacks from deep rather than surrender the ball straight back. That habit only functions because his positioning is sound, since he sweeps outside his box the way a spare defender would, extinguishing danger before it becomes a genuine chance. He also claims crosses a cautious keeper would leave alone, which settles a defence that might otherwise scramble.

The tension shows whenever an opponent presses high up the pitch, because a keeper who insists on playing out invites the odd costly mistake near his own goal. Hermansen keeps doing it anyway, refusing to abandon his passing game just because one bad moment gets punished. Watch how the crowd reacts the first time a short pass goes wrong, because that is when his conviction actually gets tested.