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Socceroos midfielder Connor Metcalfe joked the Brisbane Roar must be “kicking themselves” after prematurely cashing out their sell-out clause for Australian young gun Lucas Herrington.
The 18-year-old Queenslander, who currently represents the Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer, became the youngest Australian to start a World Cup match during last week’s 0-0 draw against Paraguay at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. The centre-back contributed a team-high ten defensive interventions to help the Socceroos keep a clean sheet, which proved enough for Australia to qualify for the knockouts.
He will almost certainly keep his spot in the starting XI for Australia’s Round of 32 match against Egypt in Dallas, which commences on Saturday at 4am AEST.
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Herrington has been linked with a move to La Liga champions Barcelona, where he’s predicted to fetch a price of somewhere between $23 million to $30 million, according to the
CIES Football Observatory. The current Australian record is Leicester City’s $26 million purchase of Harry Souttar from Stoke City in 2023.
“I’m just trying to stay present and really enjoy this moment,” Herrington responded when asked about the transfer speculation last week.
“It’s my first one, hopefully first of many, but it doesn’t come around very often.
“I’m really just trying to put my best forward and work hard, and we’ll see what comes after it.”
“But I’m just fully focused on the World Cup and the team at the moment.”
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Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Metcalfe praised Herrington’s calmness and maturity, claiming that “nothing really fazes him”.
“It’s pretty wild, to be honest… he never looks nervous,” he said
“I’m not nervous when he has the ball… sometimes if a young player is playing, a lot of the other boys can be nervous they’re going to make a rash decision, but he’s calm on the ball.
“He’s dealing with all the hype and press really well, he’s very level-headed and a nice guy, and that will help him a lot in his next stage.”
In January, Herrington signed for Colorado following an 18-month stint at the Brisbane Roar, with the A-League club selling him for about $1 million.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Roar negotiated a 20 per cent sell-on clause with Colorado, which they recently cashed out for about $530,000. If Herrington’s rapid rise continues and the deal with Barcelona comes to fruition, the A-League club’s decision to choose a short-term cash injection over holding out for a bigger sum could cost millions.
“They’ll probably be kicking themselves,” Metcalfe laughed when informed of the sell-on clause.
