From Brisbane to Hull: How Lucas Herrington’s Premier League move came together
Poletti 
Buddy Farah [L] and Lucas Herrington [R] on Herrington's signing day at Hull City. Photo Credit: Hull City
On September 26, 2024, Ruben Zadkovich made headlines when he declared Lucas Herrington as “the best defender in Australian football right now.”
Less than two years later, Lucas Herrington is starting to settle into life in Hull, after a highly touted move to promoted Premier League side Hull City from the Colorado Rapids.
Herrington’s agent, Buddy Farah, said that the way Herrington has been able to take on these new challenges made his job in organising the transfers to Colorado and Hull City a lot easier.
He also credited Zadkovich for having faith in a young player and giving him quality minutes in the A-League Men.
“He’s seen something in him quite early [and] that he was able to be brave and bold and give this young man an opportunity to get on that pitch in the A-League and show his qualities,” Farah told Round Ball Australia.
After Herrington moved to Major League Soccer (MLS) side Colorado Rapids once he completed his HSC and turned 18, he quickly started to impress and attracted interest from none other than Barcelona on the eve of the World Cup.
The move was rejected by Colorado, which led to a rise in interest for the young Australian defender, with a number of clubs flagging they were interested with Farah, who then had the job of sifting through all the offers and opportunities.
“We started to [sort through all the opportunities] in April. There’s been four months of work behind all of this,” Farah said.
“There’s been countless Zoom calls with different clubs, sporting directors, head coaches, head of recruitments and chief scouts.
“People don’t really see what is put into these types of situations and how we come to a point where we feel [that] this is the right move for the kid.
“He had options to go to bigger clubs but from my perspective and from Lucas’s perspective, he wanted to continue to grow as a footballer and the only way to do that is by playing football.”
Farah said that the proposed move to Barcelona came with a clear plan to loan him out in the short-term to another La Liga club where he would be a starting player.
When Colorado rejected the move, the focus had to shift for Farah and Herrington to finding a different move, which saw Hull City come into the equation.
“Hull City presented a fantastic project to us, where they felt that if he came to them with the amount of the defenders that they had currently on their books and what they were trying to build for the future that Lucas would be a pivotal part.
“We don’t have a crystal ball. Every decision that we make could be a risky decision because we can’t see what’s ahead, but we feel like we crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s early on to ensure that if he decided to take on this step and move to Hull, there was a clear plan that he would play a lot of minutes if he deserves to play those minutes.”
The first of those competitive football minutes could come as early as opening weekend of the Premier League, when Hull City kick-off its season against Manchester United, and Farah has no doubt that Herrington will be prepared for the occasion if he is called upon.
“If you’ve seen Lucas and the way he goes about things, he’s a very composed footballer. I always say that he’s got ice in his veins [and] nothing seems to faze him.
“But he’s still a kid. He’s 18 years old. It’s still quite a daunting prospect to think that only in January this year he played his last game in the A-League and all of a sudden he’s possibly coming up against Bruno Fernandes next week or Benjamin Å eÅ¡ko up front and Marcus Rashford as well.
“I’m sure that while he’s sitting in his hotel room reflecting on what’s happened over the last few days, he’d be sitting there trying to pinch himself to think ‘Am I really here? Is this the stage that I’m already ready to grasp?’
“I don’t see it being a problem. He has a great persona about him. He’ll be a successful footballer. I have no doubt in that.”