So, why did Nuno Espirito Santo really drop Alphonse Areola and replace the veteran goalkeeper with Mads Hermansen at Premier League strugglers West Ham United?

Only a few weeks earlier, Nuno had credited Alphonse Areola with helping improve the Hammers’ dreadful record from set-pieces.

Following his blunder against Brighton, and the last gasp penalty he gave away in a crucial home defeat by Nottingham Forest, had his faith in the Frenchman wavered?

Was he simply planning for the future? Areola is 33 years of age now, and his contract has only a year to run. That would be a strange decision made at a very strange time, though. West Ham United’s Premier League status is on the line, after all. This is not the moment to start thinking about contracts.

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Initially, Nuno claimed that Hermansen had been rewarded for his fine performances on the training pitch. He was surprisingly brought back into the XI after five months away before the 2-0 win at Burnley. Mads Hermansen’s recall also coincided with the Hammers’ first clean sheet since August.

A few days later, though, Nuno revealed another reason for Areola’s removal. One that, a deep dive into the stats will tell you, is borne out in the numbers.

Mads Hermansen helps West Ham United play more progressive football

We are not simply referring to the fact that West Ham’s three clean sheets have all come with Hermansen between the sticks. One in August, two following his recall in February.

Three in eight for him, compared to zero in 20 for Areola.

Funnily enough, Hermansen also concedes 2.1 goals per game compared to Areola’s 1.8. Talk about a quirk of the statistics. West Ham keep more clean sheets with Hermansen in goal, but they are also vulnerable to the odd blitzing. Both Liverpool and Chelsea have racked up five goals apiece against the Dane.

Nuno, though, obviously feels that Hermansen’s qualities in possession make up for any disadvantages in terms of shot-stopping and cross collection.

“Like I said, [keeping clean sheets] is not about our goalkeeper and back line,” Nuno told West Ham’s website last month.

“Mads gives us this option also to play from the back. I think the team is acknowledging and realising that we have an extra man that can help us.”

It is telling, and reflective of Nuno’s pursuit of a more possession-based model, that Hermansen averages 33 passes per game compared to Areola’s 27. He also boasts a far greater pass completion rate, 61 per cent compared to the Frenchman’s 46 per cent.

Now, Nuno credits Taty Castellanos for helping West Ham defend from the front; hassling, harrying opponents, and blocking the passing lanes into midfield. Similarly, the addition of Axel Disasi – one of the best aerial defenders in the league – has also made a big difference.

Perhaps Nuno felt emboldened, with Castellanos and Disasi making key contributions at both ends, to bring Hermansen back into the fold, feeling that West Ham would no longer give up chances at such a worrying rate.

Taty Castellanos and Axel Disasi make the Hammers far harder to play against

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While Hermansen ranks lower than Areola in terms of his save percentage and higher in goals conceded per 90 minutes, West Ham now allow far fewer shots than they did before Hermansen’s return at Turf Moor.

With Castellanos pressing high and Disasi providing some much-needed protection, Hermansen faces only 4.75 shots per game now, compared to Areola’s 6.75.

West Ham average greater possession numbers now, too, than they did with Areola. If you take out that 1-1 draw with Man United – a game in which the Red Devils dominated yet created very little – the Hammers have averaged 46 per cent of the possession in three of their last four matches.

They even equalled Liverpool in the possession stakes despite losing 5-2 on Saturday.

So, although our Hammers News readers rightly feel Hermansen’s distribution is ‘levels above’ Areola’s, Nuno made sure to put the right things in place in preparation for the Dane’s spring-time recall.

Had West Ham not signed Disasi and Castellanos, not to mention another off-the-ball workhorse in Pablo Felipe, perhaps Areola would have stayed in net.

Only eight strikers in the Premier League average more tackles and interceptions per game than Castellanos. Fullkrug, in contrast, ranks in the 70s, with the physical but ageing Callum Wilson in at 63rd.

Perhaps West Ham would have continued to sit back and defend, in the knowledge that they could not press from the front and were also missing a Disasi-like presence to deal with those crosses.

Now, with Castellanos defending ferociously from the front line, with Disasi and Konstantinos Mavropanos providing the physicality and the aerial prowess largely missing from Hermansen’s game, Nuno maybe feels he has the players to shield the vulnerabilities and exacerbate the strengths of his ball-playing glovesman.

If the Hammers still had Niclas Fullkrug up top, Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo together at the back, Hermansen would likely have faced a lot more pressure, a lot more crosses, and a lot more shots.

Hermansen hails Disasi and Konstantinos Mavropanos partnership

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All of this is without mentioning Castellanos’ ability to receive the ball with his back to goal and spin away from pressure. Or, in fact, Disasi’s underrated passing ability. Disasi tops the charts at West Ham when it comes to pass accuracy and passes per game.

If Nuno wants to shift towards a more progressive, proactive style of play – and the signs suggest he does – Disasi and Castellanos are just as integral as Hermansen’s line-breaking passes.

“[Disasi and Mavropanos] have been solid and they are dominating games they’re playing,” Hermansen told The Athletic after the 0-0 draw with Bournemouth.

“It looks and feels natural to be part of as well. We train together every day, we talk football and how we can improve together. We’re trying to build on this and get better.”

It is a sign of a good manager when, rather than just throwing a team together and expecting them to perform, he creates the right environment, the right tactical set-up, for them to thrive.

He appears to have done just that with Mads Hermansen. Of course, with a little bit of help from a few January recruits.