Liverpool’s defensive situation heading into the 2026/27 season has become one of the more pressing storylines of Andoni Iraola’s early tenure at Anfield.
Liverpool’s defensive situation heading into the 2026/27 season has become one of the more pressing storylines of Andoni Iraola’s early tenure at Anfield.
Joe Gomez remains sidelined through injury.
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Jeremy Jacquet, the club’s summer arrival, has been managing discomfort in training and missed the opening pre-season friendlies as a precaution.
Virgil van Dijk, at 35 and only just returning from World Cup duty with the Netherlands, cannot be expected to shoulder the entire defensive burden alone for a full campaign.
Iraola himself admitted during the club’s pre-season tour of the United States that Liverpool have been “without senior centre-backs” for large stretches of preparation which is a rare and uncomfortable admission for a club of Liverpool’s stature this close to the start of a new season.
It is against that backdrop that reports of Liverpool’s interest in a young Australian centre-back take on added significance.
According to The Athletic, Liverpool sent scouts to watch 18-year-old Lucas Herrington during the season — tracking the Colorado Rapids defender as he established himself as a first-choice starter in MLS and, eventually, as a full Australia international at the 2026 World Cup.
Herrington’s rise has been rapid by any standard.
He moved to Colorado from Brisbane Roar ahead of the 2026 MLS season and quickly became a regular starter, making 17 league appearances for a Rapids side that has built a reputation as one of MLS’s most effective academies for developing and selling young talent which was the same pathway that saw Canadian defender Moise Bombito move to Nice in France for an MLS-record centre-back fee in 2024.
His performances did not go unnoticed internationally.
Herrington made his senior Australia debut in March and was subsequently named in the Socceroos’ 2026 World Cup squad, starting against Paraguay in the group stage and against Egypt in the last 32.
His tournament ended on a difficult note, missing a decisive penalty in the shootout defeat to Egypt, a moment that drew scrutiny given his age and the pressure of the assignment, but his overall performances throughout the competition were widely praised, with commentators noting his composure on the ball, distribution, and calm positional sense well beyond his years.
That combination of attributes explains why Liverpool were not the only European club paying attention.
The Athletic also reported that Barcelona had an opening bid for Herrington rejected back in June, underlining the genuine scale of interest in the teenager.
For now, it is Hull City who have moved decisively, reaching a club-to-club agreement in principle worth an upfront £12.6 million plus £4.4 million in add-ons, with Colorado Rapids retaining a 15 per cent sell-on clause.
The newly-promoted Premier League club, playing top-flight football for the first time since 2016/17, see Herrington as a long-term defensive investment.
Liverpool’s scouting interest may not translate into an immediate move.
But for a club actively searching for defensive reinforcements, a talented young centre-back already accustomed to senior international football will not have gone unnoticed for long.