Europe’s biggest clubs are joining the queue for Socceroos rising star Lucas Herrington with Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Bayern Munich reportedly showing interest in the 18-year-old centre back.
Herrington started in Australia’s draw with Paraguay before playing the full 120 minutes and missing a penalty in the Round of 32 loss to Egypt at the World Cup.
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The teenager drew praise for his courage to step up and take a penalty in the shootout, and also for his impressive post-match interview with SBS where the Queenslander said he will “move on” from the “speed bump” that was missing his penalty.
Before the World Cup began, the Brisbane Roar product had already caught the eye of some of the biggest clubs in the world.
Barcelona reportedly had an offer of €5 million rejected by Herrington’s current club, MLS outfit Colorado Rapids.
While Liverpool and Napoli have also kept tabs on with the Reds sending scouts to watch him play in the US.
Now, many of their Champions League rivals have stood up and took notice of the teenager who only left the Roar in January.
TEAMtalk.com’s Graeme Bailey reported that Herrington “has become one of the hottest properties of the summer transfer window”.
Bailey said that Barcelona remains very interested in the young Australian, but the La Liga champions face competition from a whopping 14 others clubs in Europe’s top leagues.
Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Monaco, Lille, Atalanta, Union Saint-Gilloise and Ajax are all reportedly showing interest in Herrington on the continent’s mainland.
While the “strongest interest” comes from across the English Channel, Premier League clubs Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Everton, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Newcastle United have all had their scouts track Herrington and have “held discussions” on potentially acquiring him.
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Recently relegated Burnley and Socceroos teammate Nestory Irankunda’s Watford have also expressed interest if the youngster fancied a move to the Championship.
According to the CIES Football Observatory, Herrington’s estimated value sits between $23 million and $30 million.
A move in that range would break the Australian transfer record after Leicester City bought Harry Souttar from Stoke City for $23m after a standout campaign at the last World Cup.
The strong attention surrounding Herrington comes after a big accolade in his first MLS season.
The 18-year-old was selected alongside the likes of Argentina legend Lionel Messi, former Tottenham star Son Heung-min and Germany great Thomas Muller in the MLS All-Star squad.
They will take on the All-Stars squad from Mexico’s LIGA MX later this month in Charlotte.