A MASSIVE INVESTMENT
With Hernandez deal, Crew among top MLS spenders
The Crew's acquisition of Colombian international striker Cucho Hernandez from recently relegated Premier League club Watford for a Columbus-record transfer fee of more than $10 million isn't only the biggest signing in club history. It's also a memorable moment in the city's sports history.
The Crew officially announced the signing on Tuesday morning.
Hernandez's contract runs through
2025 and will make him one of, if not the highest-paid player on the team as well as one of the highest-paid players in MLS.
Hernandez's transfer fee was greater than the $8 million paid to acquire Lucas Zelarayan before the 2020 season, and Zelarayan just signed a contract extension that is paying him $3.1 million in base salary and a guaranteed $3.7 million this season — the ninth highest total in MLS.
Hernandez doesn't yet have the name recognition that might attract more casual sports fans, but his age, the amount of money spent to acquire him, and his pedigree as an emerging talent in arguably the two biggest leagues in the world has the potential to tap into a new level of interest in the Crew.
The 23-year-old scored five goals along with two assists in 25 games this past Premier League season, making him the second-leading scorer on Watford. This came after recording 17 goals in Spain's second division to get SD Huesca promoted to La Liga. In total, Hernandez tallied 11 goals and seven assists in 79 games over three seasons, playing for three teams on loan in La Liga before joining Watford.
Beyond the quality of player the Crew are getting, there's a broader significance to the deal.
“As good as Cucho is, we believe he can be even better in MLS. There were many teams from top leagues around the world who were after Cucho, and it is a testament to the ambitious project we have created in Columbus that he chose to come here.” Tim Bezbatchenko Crew general manager
Career-defining moment for ownership, Bezbatchenko, Porter
Since the early days of the construction of Lower.com Field, president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko and coach Caleb Porter thought about bringing in a big-name striker as a designated player in 2021 when the stadium opened. For several reasons, including the pandemic impacting international scouting and Gyasi Zardes having one of the best seasons of his career in 2020, that never happened.
Entering this season, Porter and Bezbatchenko said they viewed Zardes and Miguel Berry as starters. But after trading Zardes, Porter maintained they always planned to upgrade at striker and now was the time.
“As good as Cucho is, we believe he can be even better in MLS,” Bezbatchenko said in a statement. “There were many teams from top leagues around the world who were after Cucho, and it is a testament to the ambitious project we have created in Columbus that he chose to come here.”
Hernandez has the potential to be one of the elite attackers in MLS. But there's a considerable risk to the investment of more than $10 million just to bring him here, not to mention the multi-milliondollar salary.
If Hernandez plays as the Crew expect, he can be the driving force toward multiple trophies alongside Lucas Zelarayan and Darlington Nagbe and cementing this as the golden era of the Crew. If he doesn't live up to the team's billing of him, it will be Bezbatchenko, Porter and even team owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam
who bear the brunt of the blame.
But the Crew believe Hernandez will make an instant impact.
"A designated player rarely takes time to adapt,” Porter said in April. “You saw that with Lucas Zelarayan. You see that with almost every designated player in the league.”
Crew among MLS big spenders now
Days before the first game of the 2022 season was played, Porter attempted to explain why the Crew's identity would be built around defense this season rather than a potent attack.
“Are we ever going to be a team that leads the league in scoring? With our budget, probably not," Porter said. "We have talent, but we're not going to have the talent of some of the teams. That's just a reality. But we have guys who can
consistently score goals.”
With the acquisition of Hernandez, the Crew are in the top-tier of MLS spenders.
The $10 million to $10.5 million transfer fee is the seventh-biggest transfer fee in league history, according to Mlssoccer.com reporter Tom Bogert. And assuming the transfer fee correlates with the salary, which it normally does – especially given Hernandez is a young player at the position that commands the most money and is coming from Europe – the Crew will likely have two players making more than $3 million per season.
Based on the MLS players' union's salary database, the Crew are now ranked fifth among all 28 teams in MLS in total spending for 2022.
Since joining the family of former team doctor Pete Edwards as co-owners, the Haslams have flexed their wealth as
majority owners with spending on a new stadium, training facility and now the two top transfer fees and contracts in club history.
The deal is also a good bit of business, too. Hernandez is still at an age where he could be sold for more money than it cost to acquire him — if he performs at a high level. Currently, he also represents less of a budget hit than Zardes, given Hernandez's status as a young designated player.
Pressure on Caleb Porter to win now and in the future
Porter has talked at length about why the Crew needed to trade Zardes and how the team's lack of goals proved they needed offensive reinforcements. Bezbatchenko echoed that line of thinking rather than make a coaching change during a span when Columbus lost six of nine games.
Now they have reinforcements, and an attacking duo in Zelarayan and Hernandez that should command several sellout crowds through the 3 1/2 seasons left on their contracts. It's time for results.
“Cucho and Lucas Zelarayan together have the potential to be one of the top duos in MLS,” Porter said in a statement provided by the team. This investment is a testament to the belief our ownership group has in this club and our commitment to championship ambitions year in and year out. As we enter the halfway point of the season, we feel this is the missing piece to push us over the top.”
The Crew are in 11th place in the Eastern Conference with 17 points in 14 games. By the time Hernandez makes his debut, the Crew will have half the 34game season remaining. With this signing, the Crew hope to make a push at MLS Cup this year and in years to come. jmyers@dispatch.com @_jcmyers