Evan Ferguson - Top Irish Prospect

[next_number_seven]

I think that says more about the lack of quality Irish players in the last decade than anything

Johnny Evans was good enough. I know he's Northern Irish.

 

[next_number_seven]

I think 70-80 should get him.......would be clever from us but also slightly risky..........i reckon chelsea might move for him considering they r targeting younger players......wont be surprised if united do bid

70 to 80m would definitely get him. Brighton would obviously sell at that price.

I was thinking 40 to 50m is a realistic price to pay. As in, I think Brighton would accept 50m.

 

[Name Changed]

Would love us to sign someone like him but I can't see it happening. Great finisher.

 

[SoCross]

Brighton will ask a thumping amount. Can we go into next season with this kid as our main striker ? Don’t think so.

Would love for us to sign him though, potential to become special.

 

[bucky]

He made that first goal look very easy. Class. Granted it's only Grimsby, but impressive nonetheless.

 

[Pirlo'sBeard]

Delighted this guy is Irish.

We should sign him.

 

[Marwood]

Go get him now before his price really skyrockets.

 

[Buchan]

Fair play to Brighton for picking him up from Bohemians in 2021. He only played 3 times for Bohemians so that’s great scouting.

He played for Bohs’ first team as a 14-year-old v Chelsea in a friendly (Lampard’s first game as Chelsea boss). His name has been on people’s lips within the Irish scene for a long time, to be fair.

 

[mainoo era]

70 to 80m would definitely get him. Brighton would obviously sell at that price.

I was thinking 40 to 50m is a realistic price to pay. As in, I think Brighton would accept 50m.

They turned down 70-75 mil for caicedo despite caicedo only having just one season at brighton......i cant see them selling a striker for 50 mil...

 

[Name Changed]

He has all the attributes to be a top player for the next 12 or 13 years. He seems to have kept his feet on the ground as well. Brighton would demand big money but for a player that we could have for the next decade, why not? An aging Harry Kane would cost similar. It wouldn't surprise me if we paid for Kane and Spurs used that money to buy Ferguson. In two years time we'd need to replace Kane.

 

[Andy_Cole]

Should rename as a bit like Wout

 

[Neil_Buchanan]

Really like the look of this kid, hope we go for him. It’s not ideal given we need a first choice striker and he isn’t quite there yet but I would rather get him and a cheap ish short term option over spending £100+ million on Kane.

 

[LawCharltonBest]

Sign me up. Would love to take the chance on him.

Heard he was a United fan growing up too.

 

[Drizzle]

Would be an exciting buy, he could develop into a top class striker. At worst he already looks competent, so it's probably worth a punt. However, clearly we'd need to buy another striker too because we can't rely on a kid to score 20+ goals for us next season and lead the line consistently for 40+ games in his first season.

Given he'd probably be £70m or more, that would mean we'd have to look at cheaper older alternatives to bring in as well. I think we need 2 strikers in anyway because Martial and Weghorst are not suitable.

 

[mav_9me]

Zero question if SAF was manager he would be ours in summer.

 

[sullydnl]

Looks promising. But Brighton would likely demand so much for him as is that from bigger clubs' POV it's probably worth monitoring him a while longer. The assurance you'd get from watching his developmemt for another year or two probably outweighs the increase in value you might see across that time.

 

[AltiUn]

We should 100% be going for him in summer.

 

[Leg-End]

He looks good but are we really spending £70 million plus on an 18 year old with 3 premier league goals so far, of course we aren't.

I'm all for buying potential but Premier League history is littered with young players that had good first seasons and then disappeared to mid level careers. The ideal time was to buy him before Brighton did, now you let him develop at Brighton and take him when he's ready made for the next step.

 

[yumtum]

This is the "problem" with British clubs being so financially stable for the bigger clubs which people don't really take into account, this lad having played 10 Premier League games is already being talked about on here as a 50-80m+ player.

In contrast, Barca paid €5m for Pedri who had played more for Las Palmas at a similar age.

Ferguson will likely have to take the Rice route and run down his contract.

 

[The Boy]

This is the "problem" with British clubs being so financially stable for the bigger clubs which people don't really take into account, this lad having played 10 Premier League games is already being talked about on here as a 50-80m+ player.

In contrast, Barca paid €5m for Pedri who had played more for Las Palmas at a similar age.

Ferguson will likely have to take the Rice route and run down his contract.

There’s no suggestion he wants to leave. He signed a new contract before Christmas last year, he’s Brighton’s youngest ever premier league starter and is by all accounts very happy at the club.

 

[Marwood]

He looks good but are we really spending £70 million plus on an 18 year old with 3 premier league goals so far, of course we aren't.

I'm all for buying potential but Premier League history is littered with young players that had good first seasons and then disappeared to mid level careers. The ideal time was to buy him before Brighton did, now you let him develop at Brighton and take him when he's ready made for the next step.

But how much will he cost at that point?

 

[Marwood]

There’s no suggestion he wants to leave. He signed a new contract before Christmas last year, he’s Brighton’s youngest ever premier league starter and is by all accounts very happy at the club.

He'll be even happier when his wage is trebled over night.

 

[RuudTom83]

Different times, every team in the league is rich these days…United can’t just pick and choose who they want.

He is going to get plenty of game time at Brighton and is only 18. The wiser approach would be to advise him not to sign a long contract or get some clauses in the small print.

Go for him in a few years when his contract is shorter…I’m saying all this with zero knowledge of his current contract.

 

[yumtum]

There’s no suggestion he wants to leave. He signed a new contract before Christmas last year, he’s Brighton’s youngest ever premier league starter and is by all accounts very happy at the club.

I didn't say he was? And I put Problem in quotation marks as I dont consider it a bad thing that clubs can afford to ask for a fee they deem acceptable.

Simply saying that if he did one day want to leave, he'll likely need to run his contract down or the paying club pay the appropriate fee.

 

[Oldyella]

There’s no suggestion he wants to leave. He signed a new contract before Christmas last year, he’s Brighton’s youngest ever premier league starter and is by all accounts very happy at the club.

The wage bump and increased chance of trophies will always be a big factor in any eventual desire to move, but if I was advising him I would be telling him to stay at Brighton for at least another year. Regular playing time in a side playing good football at his age is ideal.

 

[Leg-End]

But how much will he cost at that point?

It could be a lot more but my point is it's a huge risk to spend the sort of money required now when he's achieved very little to date.

We cannot afford to get the position wrong in the summer (ownership dependant).

 

[Marwood]

It could be a lot more but my point is it's a huge risk to spend the sort of money required now when he's achieved very little to date.

We cannot afford to get the position wrong in the summer (ownership dependant).

Agree its a risk but its so hard to get a top No.9 once established. The competition for that player, the fee. Even then it can still be a risk. Osimhen will cost over £100 million and there's an element of doubt about him.

Sometimes you have to go big on a player based on their ability. What you see right now. As opposed to how proven they are.

 

[elmo]

Different times, every team in the league is rich these days…United can’t just pick and choose who they want.

He is going to get plenty of game time at Brighton and is only 18. The wiser approach would be to advise him not to sign a long contract or get some clauses in the small print.

Go for him in a few years when his contract is shorter…I’m saying all this with zero knowledge of his current contract.

His competition if he signs for us is a perma-crocked Martial. He’ll have more competition from Brighton’s reserves than our first team at the moment.

 

[captaincantona]

There’s no suggestion he wants to leave. He signed a new contract before Christmas last year, he’s Brighton’s youngest ever premier league starter and is by all accounts very happy at the club.

He is not even at the club 2 years and is not a product of their academy or anything. Getting him here won’t be an issue. It’s whether we are the best place for him to develop into the player we need him to be. Pay €40 million and A loan deal back to Brighton for a season - throw them Amad on loan or something - get creative! If he comes here it’s too make or break for an 18 year old considering the huge gap that has been there for years and years - do we really expect an 18 year old with so little experience to fill it? Another season at the top level is required I would say…I don’t doubt he will be good enough but needs the right environment to get there.

 

[Skills]

But how much will he cost at that point?

You make him run his contract down

 

[Robbie Boy]

Brighton is the perfect club for him to develop. He turned down Liverpool for Brighton because he would have a much better chance of gametime. He had a trial with us before he joined Brighton, but I'm not sure whether we tried to sign him.

 

[MegadrivePerson]

Fair play to Brighton for picking him up from Bohemians in 2021. He only played 3 times for Bohemians so that’s great scouting.

Liverpool went all out to get him too, but he turned them down as he didn't think he'd get as many opportunities to play first team football with them.

 

[RuudTom83]

Thanks @Robbie Boy

Very interesting, seems like a smart lad!

 

[Fortitude]

Agree its a risk but its so hard to get a top No.9 once established. The competition for that player, the fee. Even then it can still be a risk. Osimhen will cost over £100 million and there's an element of doubt about him.

Sometimes you have to go big on a player based on their ability. What you see right now. As opposed to how proven they are.

If Brighton believe in the player, they're not going to get short-changed on him either way: they'll sell early with potential already factored into the price, or simply wait and sell him for more when he's realised that potential.

Unless they've got Southamptonitis and eagerness to cull for cash, they're surely going to see to it that they get what they feel is due over what a suitor feels they can bargain for. If he's sure thing, that bartering factor pretty much goes out the window, I should think.

I guess the difference between what he might go for compared to Osimhen is that Napoli are notoriously difficult to deal with and will be demanding way more than £100m, which Brighton, based on the rawness of the kid, cannot.

 

[3KDré]

Seems like a perfect Ten Hag striker. I just can’t see us buying him, unfortunately, I think we will prioritise someone a bit older.

 

[Bojan Djordjic]

Zero question if SAF was manager he would be ours in summer.

What is this strange meme that has developed around Ferguson where everyone keeps saying that if SAF was manager he'd be ours. One of those weird online peculiarities where everyone regurgitates the same bland statement as if it is some profound piece of analysis.

 

[Doracle]

Kane and Ferguson as joint purchases this summer, with a loan back deal for Ferguson makes an amazing amount of sense, albeit not cheap.

 

[Bojan Djordjic]

There’s no suggestion he wants to leave. He signed a new contract before Christmas last year, he’s Brighton’s youngest ever premier league starter and is by all accounts very happy at the club.

Yeah, and his development is going perfectly right now. He's not been run into the ground and he can develop at his own pace without the pressure of being a United player. Personally think it would be a really bad move for him to come to United right now as he just isn't at that standard yet. Fans think he's the next Rooney but while he's uncommonly strong for his age, he's not as advanced as Rooney was. He's got all the raw materials to be really good in the probably not too distant future but he's still so young and he can drift in and out of games a little bit (which is totally normal and understandable). Brighton has some amazing benefits, it's a small club, plays a style of football more akin to a big club and he gets plenty of service so it's a great apprenticeship.

He would probably cost United 60-70million now in his breakthrough season which would be a huge risk whereas if we're patient and wait until he fully breaks out he might only be another 10-20million which would be less of a risk because at that point we'd only be in for him if he's genuinely the real deal.

 

[Dave Smith]

Brighton will be in Europe next season and he is 18. No way are they selling him. If he follows up his promise this season and gets 15 goals+ next season that'll be £80m at a absolute minimum and probably more like £100m.

 

[RedfromIreland]

What is this strange meme that has developed around Ferguson where everyone keeps saying that if SAF was manager he'd be ours. One of those weird online peculiarities where everyone regurgitates the same bland statement as if it is some profound piece of analysis.

It’s the same with the Dalot analysis, just because he cleared the ball with a back post header once, he has posters fawning over him in comparison to AWB, claiming he’s better at back post defending.