At Hull City, the rate of incomings is escalating. Nine players have arrived over recent weeks, and the owner is very open about each deal’s progression. Now, they get to welcome defenders Lucas Herrington and Nobel Mendy.
We still await prices from Fantasy Premier League (FPL) but as every other newly promoted defender costs £4.0m, it’s safe to assume this pair will, too.
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WHO IS HERRINGTON?
Aged only 18, this 6ft 4in centre-back began at Brisbane Roar and played 29 times before January’s switch to the Colorado Rapids. Making a good early impression, he was named in the recent MLS All-Star lineup.
In fact, Herrington has already brought a huge profit to the team he debuted for less than six months ago.
Then again, this initial £12.6m is a lot of money for someone with only 49 club appearances. With add-ons, he’s set to break the record for the most expensive Australian footballer.
Choosing to represent the Socceroos instead of Germany, Finland and Zimbabwe has already paid dividends, as he started the 0-0 World Cup game versus Paraguay, then their Round of 32 defeat to Egypt. The teenager volunteered to take a penalty in the shootout but, unfortunately, missed.
WHO IS MENDY?
Meanwhile, Senegalese left-footer Mendy is joining for a club-record £21 million fee.
Rayo Vallecano have made a quick buck, considering they only made his loan from Real Betis permanent in June, who themselves originally borrowed Mendy from Paris FC.
Last season, the 21-year-old played 28 times in all competitions, scoring past Valencia and Atletico Madrid.
Rayo conceded the joint-fourth fewest La Liga goals and reached the Conference League final. Unlike at Betis in 2024/25, Mendy was able to come off the bench and play in that showcase event. Though both occasions ended up being defeats to London clubs.
WHOSE POSITION DO THEY THREATEN?
Herrington and Mendy both played on the left-hand side of central defence for their respective clubs last season. It’s where Charlie Hughes (£4.0m) was stationed in 2025/26 but the DefCon-friendly centre-back looks set to remain sidelined for some time.
John Egan (£4.0m) and Semi Ajayi (£4.0m) could cover the right side of central defence, then, although Herrington is right-footed, so Sergej Jakirovic may see the young Aussie as capable of switching sides.
ANY FPL POTENTIAL?
Looking at last season’s defensive contributions (DefCon) numbers, Herrington averaged 8.88 actions per 90 minutes, while Mendy reached a whopping 11.37. Defenders only need 10 in a match to gain two extra FPL points.
To put it into context, Mendy’s rate was better than Konstantinos Mavropanos (11.07), James Hill (10.98) and Maxence Lacroix (10.94), while only slightly behind DefCon king Marcos Senesi (11.45):
This weekend’s final pre-season friendly against Nice may tell us who is going to start come Gameweek 1. Hull have broken their transfer record for Mendy, so you’d think he’d be in with the best chance of featuring.
It’s probably going to be DefCons and not a great deal else, of course. Hull are the bookies’ favourites to finish last, and our Fixture Ticker doesn’t detect much joy in their early run. Gameweek 2 is maybe an exception:
It’s also worth mentioning that the Tigers were promoted despite having the Championship’s second-worst tally for expected goals conceded (xGC, 82.69).
