Brighton striker Evan Ferguson is considered one of the brightest young strikers in the Premier League. In a recent interview, the Republic of Ireland international have revealed he grew up supporting Manchester United but isn’t thinking about a move to Old Trafford just yet.
Ferguson, 19, has been one of the biggest talking points in the Premier League since breaking into the Brighton team. He has now admitted he grew up supporting the Reds and idolised the best attackers that played for the club.
“I supported [Manchester] United as a boy,” Ferguson told Chris Sutton for the Daily Mail. “You had the Rooneys, the Berbatovs and obviously Danny Welbeck. They’ve always had a good thing going with the striker.”
Once upon a time, United had multiple strikers renowned for scoring goals, but in 2023 we are relying on a 20-year-old as our main centre-forward. That comes from poor recruitment down the years and there’s plenty of reason to believe Rasmus Hojlund has what it takes to become an elite striker.
For example, Brighton have more strikers than United and that makes for less responsibility on Ferguson’s shoulders. It’s a completely different story for Hojlund at United and I think they’re both special strikers in the making.
Ferguson’s performances have drawn more questions about his future, but the Brighton striker says he’s used to being the subject of speculation.
“I think so, because I had it so early on at 14,” he added. “You see it all on social media when someone else is being talked about. But that was the first time it happened to me, when I was suddenly the one everyone was talking about. School was a weird one after that.”
The problem other clubs have trying to sign Ferguson is that he’s under contract at Brighton until 2029.
Speaking about Ferguson’s new contract this week, Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi said (via Sky Sports): “Evan deserves this new contract and he has a very big future ahead of him.”
Ferguson joined Brighton from League of Ireland side Bohemians in January 2021. His first-team debut came that year in the Carabao Cup against Cardiff City. Since then, Ferguson has scored 15 goals for Brighton and he made his senior Ireland debut in March, scoring in a 3-2 win over Latvia.
There’s no way Brighton want to think about losing Ferguson anytime soon, but the writing is already on the wall for the Seagulls to make a huge profit on the Irishman.
The new deal secures a big transfer fee for Brighton.
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