Vancouver: A good World Cup can change the trajectory of a player’s career and put them on the radar of top clubs from around the planet. But when it comes to Lucas Herrington, the youngest member of the Socceroos’ squad, they’re already interested, with Barcelona lobbing an official bid for him on the eve of his possible debut at the tournament.
The La Liga champions are eager to sign centre-back Herrington from Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids and have become the first interested team to submit an offer, according to sources close to the teenager, who asked not to be publicly identified because of the sensitive nature of transfer discussions.
The terms of Barcelona’s initial proposal are unknown, but if they really want the 18-year-old, they’re going to have to cough up: it has already been rejected, having failed to meet Colorado’s valuation of Herrington, sources say.
The CIES Football Observatory estimates Herrington is worth somewhere between $23 million to $30 million.
Any bid that is accepted within that range would make Herrington the most expensive Australian player of all time.
The record transfer fee is $23 million, and was set when Leicester City bought Harry Souttar off Stoke City in the weeks after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a tournament at which he was one of Australia’s standout players.
Herrington only signed for Colorado in January after 18 months at professional level with Brisbane Roar, his hometown team, in the A-League, who sold him for about $1 million.
He quickly emerged as one of the most talented young players in MLS, holding his own against the likes of Lionel Messi, Son Heung-min and Thomas Muller – but there were European teams willing to buy him from Colorado before he had played an official match for them, sources also said.
“I’m loving it over there,” Herrington said this week.
“When I moved from the A-League, I wanted minutes, and MLS was the right place for that. It’s a great league, a developing league. Both me and my agent thought it was the right step at the time – and clearly it was. I’m playing a lot. I’m really happy with the step and really enjoying playing in Colorado.”
As Socceroos coach Tony Popovic noted when announcing his 26-man World Cup squad, Herrington is the only Colorado player who has featured in every minute of the MLS season thus far.
“He can be really good,” Popovic said. “He’s just started out, he’s doing so well … it is quite special at 18 to be doing what he’s doing.”
Herrington is a decent chance of lining up for the Socceroos in their World Cup opener against Turkey on Sunday, with Popovic expected to choose between him or Cameron Burgess on the left side of the back three. Any appearances in the tournament would further increase the amount Colorado could ask for him.
No Australian player, male or female, has pulled on Barcelona’s famous blue and red shirt; in fact, the only publicly known offer the club has made for an Aussie was back in 2003, when they pursued Leeds United’s Harry Kewell, who instead chose to sign for Liverpool.
If Herrington were to sign for the Spanish giants, it would be one of the most high-profile moves made made by a Socceroo – but there are other teams interested in him, reportedly including Everton and West Ham United.
Herrington’s former club will not see any proceeds from his next sale, sources have confirmed.
While Brisbane Roar had negotiated a clause entitling them to 20 per cent of his next transfer fee when Herrington was sold to Colorado, that clause was bought out in recent weeks.
The MLS club came to the Roar with a formal offer, and their owners, Indonesian conglomerate the Bakrie Group, ultimately reached an agreement with Colorado for about $560,000, choosing a short-term cash injection over holding out for a bigger sum if and when he is next sold.
That decision could end up costing the Roar several millions if Herrington’s trajectory continues.
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