Liverpool want deal for exceptional talent after Barcelona bid knocked back

Liverpool are making a habit of signing the best young centre-back talents around.

Last summer Giovanni Leoni - now 19 - signed for the Reds for around £26m from Parma. In January a deal for Mor Talla Ndiaye was tied up with the teenage defender arriving from FC Amitie.

Deals were also put in place for two more young centre-backs in Jeremy Jacquet and Ifeanyi Ndukwe - who will both arrive once the transfer window opens.

But Reds recruiters won’t stop there.

Liverpool looking at Socceroo Lucas Herrington

The club are now reported to be scouting an outstanding young Australian in the shape of Lucas Herrington.

The Socceroo has been the subject of a recent bid from Barcelona - which has been knocked back by his MLS club Colorado Rapids.

Herrington is expected to fetch more than the $7.7m the Rapids raked in when selling Moise Bombito to Nice last year when he eventually goes according to a report in the Athletic.

Colorado Rapids knock back Barca bid for Herrington

“Barcelona has already had an opening bid rejected by Colorado for Herrington,” the report reads.

And that could potentially open the door for Liverpool to sign the 18-year-old - who is currently with his national team at the FIFA World Cup.

“Liverpool sent scouts this season,” the report discloses.

Lucas Herrington: Situation summary

Lucas Herrington is an 18-year-old Australian centre-back, standing around 1.92m, currently established as a first-choice starter for Colorado Rapids in MLS and already capped by the Socceroos after debuting in March 2026.

A Brisbane native and Brisbane Roar academy product, he profiles as a modern, right-footed central defender: dominant aerially, physically imposing, but also composed in possession and comfortable playing out from the back.

He joined Colorado in 2026 and has since played every minute in the heart of their defence, quickly becoming one of MLS’s standout young centre-backs.

Contractually, he is tied down on a deal running to the end of 2029 with a club option for 2030, leaving the Rapids in a position of strength and underpinning reports that they would like to keep him for at least two full seasons to maximise his value.

European interest is already intense. Barcelona have had an offer rejected, while Everton and West Ham are among the Premier League clubs tracking him, and there is additional interest from across Europe.

Colorado are understood to be looking towards the €15–20m bracket in the near term, with some estimates placing his upside valuation higher, so a medium-term move to a development-focused European club – with Barcelona currently at the front of the queue – looks the most plausible next step if and when MLS can no longer match his trajectory.

“He is an exceptionally talented young man with the world at his feet,” Rapids president Pádraig Smith told Yahoo! Sports as detailed in the Athletic.

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