If you spend half an hour listening to Lucas Herrington speak you get the feeling a firecracker could go off next to him and barely an eyebrow would be raised by the teenage Socceroos defender.
This is one calm and collected character.
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There is no sense of the duck on a pond analogy where the serenity of gliding across the surface contrasts with the thrashing of legs wildly underneath it.
His footballing journey is now a well-documented one, but no less remarkable to reflect upon as the whirlwind weeks fly by. The Brisbane boy has gone from the A-League to the Premier League in just 21 months via a FIFA World Cup. That just doesn’t happen, except it did, and while Herrington realises the abnormality of his footballing story to date, he is the one who must normalise it to ensure the trajectory doesn’t plateau.
If this is what 18 looks like then what next?
As he sits in Hull City’s training ground speaking to a group of Australian journalists Herrington reveals more details about life as Premier League footballer at Hull City, a recent phone call with footballing royalty Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the excitement of testing himself against Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, representing the Socceroos at next year’s Asian Cup and his mother’s impending departure back to Australia in the coming days.
Oh, he turns 19 this weekend as well. Just as he prepares to take on Aston Villa at the MKM Stadium in Hull.
“Hopefully three points and spend the night with Mum,” Herrington says of how he plans to mark the milestone of entering his final year as a teenager.
“She’s off on Sunday so I’ll just spend the night with her before she heads back to Brisbane.”
His mother has been by his side while settling into life in another new country, another new city and another new club.
“I’ve sort of just been exploring around with her. That’s been really nice; some great quality time with her so that’s been awesome. So, we went just to the surrounding areas around Hull to check it out. They are intense days, intense sessions and intense games so whenever I can I just relax and recover,” he says of trying to find balance in what has rapidly become a very busy life.
Hull and Herrington will juggle a 38-game Premier League season with participation in the cup competitions between now and the end of May. It will be the busiest season of his young professional career.
“You want to play as many games as possible,” Herrington says.
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“There’s a big squad for a reason, to have that depth, a great core group of players that we’re all going to be relying on each other. It’s just about being patient and waiting for the opportunity and just remembering that it’s a long season so any chance I can get to play I’ll be grateful for.”
That long season has started pretty well for Hull. The newly promoted side has won both of its first two Premier League games against Manchester United and Coventry and secured a second-round League Cup victory over Stoke on penalties as well.
Herrington was a second half substitute in both Premier League games and made his starting debut for the club in the League Cup.
“It’s been awesome. Obviously, it’s probably the best league in the world, so to be here at 18 is super special.”
The Tigers are back in England’s topflight for the first time since the 2016/17 season. A devoted supporter base has made the young Aussie feel welcome.
“The fans here are very passionate, they live and breathe football which is a great thing for me to experience at this age,” Herrington says.
“There is a couple of photos and a couple of like conversations every time I go out but I enjoy speaking to the fans, I enjoy engaging with them and it’s part of being a footballer as well. You want the fans backing and the fans support so whenever I see them out in public or after a game it’s very special and I love interacting with them. The more they come up the better.”
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There’s also the potential for Hull to build an Australian fan base if the Ange Postecoglou fueled explosion in Tottenham supporters in the country is anything to go by. There’s yet to be a glut of Hull jerseys on the streets, but there’s clearly plenty of goodwill towards the club.
“I’ve felt that already and I can feel the support back home no matter what team they support which is great for me as well,” he says.
“It really means a lot to have that support back home. Obviously, I’m a proud Australian so to have that support from Australia means everything to me. I’m just trying to make everyone back home proud.”
Australian football fans and the Hull faithful aren’t the only ones keeping an eye on Herrington’s journey.
Football great Zlatan Ibrahimovic has stayed in touch after becoming one of the most high-profile voices supporting Herrington following his penalty miss against Egypt in the Round of 32 at the World Cup. The pair spoke on the phone recently.
“He just said don’t fear anyone, I’m here for a reason, so just go and enjoy.
“It’s a great league, obviously he played in it, so his message was to go have fun and don’t fear anything, just go work hard and be yourself because it’s a great experience to play in the Premier League.
“Obviously he’s a strong character and a top player as well. Once I heard what he said it meant a lot to me. He doesn’t always compliment people so to hear that from him was super special.”
If there’s anyone capable of fearless fun, it’s likely to be Herrington. In a league littered with stars the headline acts are the forwards. It’ll be Herrington’s main job to stop them shining.
“Obviously, Erling Haaland, it’s pretty hard to look past him when it comes to strikers,” Herrington says when asked who he’s most looking forward to testing himself against.
“There’s a lot of strikers around the league that are going to be very difficult to handle. So, it’s just about taking games as they come and enjoying the new challenge that every striker brings.”
As he tries to settle into life at a new club and in a new country there’s also the prospect of a trip back to Australia later this month for two games against South American heavyweights Brazil. Townsville will host the first encounter between the two sides with the second game at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
“Hopefully I’m selected in the squad,” he says.
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“If I am it would be a dream come true to play for the Socceroos in Brisbane. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do and to play in-front of hopefully a packed-out Suncorp would be a dream and in-front of my family and friends would be awesome.”
Beyond that there’s the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia in January. The Socceroos first game is against Singapore on January 9. The Asian Cup final should Australia progress that far is February 5. A season ending Achilles injury to fellow defender Cameron Burgess means Herrington is likely to be a key member of Australia’s backline, but the timing of the tournament means he could be unavailable for Hull for at least a month.
“Any chance I get to play for Australia is super special so we’ll cross that bridge when it comes to it.”
Australia’s squad could largely be made up of those who went to the World Cup in North America, but Herrington isn’t the only player to have found a new club since the tournament. Alessandro Circati and Nestory Irankunda moved to Portugal with Benfica and Sporting CP respectively, goalkeeper Patrick Beach signed with Ligue 1 club Troyes in France and Paul Okon-Engstler is now on the books of Bundesliga outfit 1. FC Koln.
“It’s very exciting and I think all very well deserved as well,” Herrington says.
“I think a lot of the boys put in such great performances at the World Cup. So, to see those pay off for them it’s great for the country and it’s great for the national team. The more players we have playing in these top leagues around Europe the stronger our national team will be.”