The 22-year-old goalkeeper spent the majority of the season on the bench, but has started the past eight Serie A games for Lazio. His performances in the Lazio goal have prompted speculation about a move away from the club during the forthcoming transfer window. He has been linked with a move to the Premier League, with several clubs keeping an eye on him. According to the Italian sports newspaper Corriere dello Sport (via LaLazioSiaMonoi), Leicester are interested in signing Mandas during the forthcoming summer transfer window. With promotion achieved, Enzo Maresca is eager to expand his team in preparation for life in the top flight.
The Leicester manager wants to bring in a new goalkeeper, and Mandas is a player the Italian likes. Lazio is not ruling anything out, but they are waiting to finalize their budget for the forthcoming season. They may be open to offers of roughly €15 million for Mandas during the summer transfer window.
Poor form was ‘good’ for Foxes, says Hermansen. Leicester City goalkeeper Mads Hermansen believes it was “healthy” for the club to overcome a poor run of form during their championship-winning season. After losing only four of their first 32 league games this season, the Foxes dropped six of their last ten between February and April. As a result, the difference between them and third place was reduced from 14 points to one. Hermansen, who joined Leicester from Danish side Brondby last summer, has played 43 games and maintained 13 clean sheets to help the club gain promotion to the Premier League.
“Personally, going from Denmark to a new country and trying to adapt to a new life, it’s been important to try to enjoy every moment,” he said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “Hard work for a year and when everything comes together in the end and we get rewarded, it is of course enjoyable.” The 23-year-old swiftly adjusted with English football, as Leicester won 13 of their first 14 Championship games. It came as a surprise, then, that the Foxes lost three games in a row, including a 2-1 home setback to struggling QPR in March. “We were flying for a long time,” Hermansen explained.
“We realized that nothing comes easily, so we all worked together to uncover those extra percentages. “It was quite healthy to experience things not really going our way and not getting the results we needed,” he stated. ‘So glad we’re back.’ Leicester can now prepare for their return to the Premier League after overcoming the challenge of a close promotion campaign. However, there is still some uncertainty at the club, which recently announced losses of £89.7 million for the 2022-23 season and was punished by the Premier League for allegedly breaching profit and sustainability guidelines. “We don’t know what is going to happen,” Hermansen said.
“Right now, we’re simply glad to be back. That is the first step, and we have a lot of outstanding people at the club striving to make this work.” Before then, the goalie is excited about the chance of joining Denmark’s side for Euro 2024. Kasper Schmeichel, a former Leicester City goalkeeper and Premier League winner, has remained the country’s first choice at the age of 37. Despite his lack of experience, Hermansen has frequently been nominated to Denmark’s qualification squads for this year’s event, which will pit the country against Slovenia, England, and Serbia in Group C. “I’m not selected yet for the team, but hopefully I’ll go,” he stated. “I’m looking forward to it, my first tournament with the national team as well, so it will be a great experience.”
