COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Crew acquired Colombian forward Juan Camilo Hernandez, known as Cucho, from Watford on Tuesday.
Terms of the contract, which runs through 2025, were not released but the Crew said it paid the largest acquisition fee in the Major League Soccer club's history. Sources told 10TV that the fee to acquire him will cost more than $10 million, which is roughly $2-3 million more than what it cost to land Lucas Zelarayan prior to the 2020 season.
Hernandez will join the team once he obtains his visa and transfer certificate following the opening of the league's secondary transfer window on July 7.
Hernandez, 23, appeared in 28 games for Watford across all competitions this past season, with five goals and three assists. He scored 49 seconds after coming off the bench in his debut match last August against Aston Villa and is the first Colombian to score in his Premier League debut.
Hernandez has appeared with the Colombian national team twice. He scored a pair of goals in his debut with the team against Costa Rica in 2018.
“As we enter the halfway point of the season, we feel this is the missing piece to push us over the top. We are looking forward to Cucho’s integration into our game model as we believe he can be that consistent goal scorer we’ve been looking for to turn our positive play into more consistent results," Crew coach Caleb Porter said in a statement.
The Crew (4-5-5) currently sit in 11th in the Eastern Conference. Hernandez will occupy an international roster spot.
