*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:21, 30 December 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:09, 30 November 2024 (UTC)
On 2 June 2016, Hernández signed with 2. Bundesliga club Eintracht Braunschweig for the 2016–17 season.[7]
Norwich City
Hernández moved to EFL Championship club Norwich City on 25 January 2018, signing a 31⁄2-year contract under German manager Daniel Farke.[8] He made his debut on 3 February in a 1–0 home win over Middlesbrough, as an 86th-minute substitute for Josh Murphy.[9] On 4 August 2018, in the first game of the new season, he scored his first goals in a 2–2 draw at Birmingham City,[10] and added seven more as the Canaries were promoted as champions.
On 9 August 2019, Hernández came on as a second-half substitute in Norwich's 4–1 away defeat to Liverpool, becoming the first Cuban to play in the Premier League.[11] He was the first of his countrymen to score in the league too on 27 October, in a 3–1 loss to Manchester United at Carrow Road.[12]
Hernández joined Championship club Middlesbrough in August 2021 on loan for the season.[13] He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 win at Nottingham Forest on 15 September.[14] His loan spell was terminated on 14 January 2022, allowing him to join another Championship club, Birmingham City, on loan until the end of the season.[15]
Hernández went straight into Birmingham's starting eleven for the following day's visit to Preston North End and played 83 minutes of the 1–1 draw.[16] A week later, he ran onto a well placed through ball from Lukas Jutkiewicz and "just had to pass it past the keeper" to open the scoring in a 2–1 win over Barnsley.[17] He was a regular for the remainder of the season, used as a wing-back as well as a winger,[18] and scored three goals from 22 appearances.[3]
Hernández returned to Norwich for the 2022–23 season, but was used mainly as a substitute in the first half of the campaign.[19] He came off the bench to score a stoppage-time winner against former club Birmingham in late August,[20] but it was only after David Wagner replaced Dean Smith as manager in January 2023 that he became a regular in the starting eleven and repaid Wagner's faith with increased productivity.[19] His second goal of the season came in a 4–2 victory away to Coventry City in late January,[21] he supplied two assists as Norwich beat Hull City 3–1 in February,[22] and his assist for Gabriel Sara in a win against Millwall that took his team into the play-off positions was his fifth.[19]
International career
Hernández has represented Germany once at the under-18 level, in a match against Ukraine in 2010.[23]
In November 2018, Hernández was called up for the first time by Cuba, but could not play due to political rules against foreign-based players.[24] In March 2021, he was called up for a second time,[25] and made his international debut in their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Guatemala.[26] On his second appearance, he scored his first goal for the country, equalising in a 2–1 loss to Curaçao.[27]
Personal life
Hernández grew up in Gütersloh after having emigrated from Cuba to Germany with his mother and sister at the age of six.[28] He was introduced to football by his German stepfather, who believed it would help Hernández integrate better into German society.[29]
Hernández became a fan favourite at Norwich after a January 2019 interview in which he spoke in praise of catalogue retailer Argos, who gave him a catalogue signed by their CEO as a souvenir.[30] He did a signing event at their NorwichRiverside store the following March.[31]
