'Cucho' goes to MLS: Columbus Crew's biggest signing ever

Columbus Crew signed 23-year-old Colombian striker Juan Camilo 'Cucho' Hernández from Watford of the English Premier League. The transfer is the biggest in the MLS team's history.

Following the official opening of Major League Soccer's secondary transfer window on July 7th, Cucho will officially join the 'Black & Gold' squad "pending receipt of his international transfer certificate and P-1 Visa."

His contract with the Columbus Crew will run through 2025. "Cucho is a world-class player who is still at an early stage of his career, and we couldn't be more excited to welcome him to Columbus Crew," said club president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko.

Cucho spent the 2021-22 season with Watford, appearing in 28 games across all competitions, scoring five goals and providing three assists. The striker made his debut for the English club in a 2021 Premier League home game against Aston Villa (Aug. 14), scoring just 49 seconds after coming off the bench.

With the goal, which proved to be the game-winner, Hernandez became the first Colombian player to score on his Premier League debut. Following the end of the 2021-22 season, the striker received Watford's Goal of the Season award for his bicycle kick in a match against Arsenal.

In addition, Cucho became the fifth player in La Liga history to score away at both Barcelona's Camp Nou and Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu in a season before the age of 20. He is also the first player since Argentine striker Sergio Agüero to achieve this feat, as well as the first Colombian player to do so.

 

June 21, 2022