Evan Ferguson

[Bastian]

Ferguson is unproven, but he does come across as a top center forward in the making (a less polished version of Benzema, in a way): strength in possession, sense for dropping deep to collect the ball and link-up play are among the best for the U-23 group (for reference, he is 90+ percentile for ball retention), sharp instincts and anticipatory movement with footwork that is up to scratch, effective in the air and on the ground, makes the game seem simple and operates like a veteran (a rare quality) as he nails the fundamentals on a routine basis, scores different types of goals (with either foot or with his head, as the result of intricate build-ups or quick counter-attacks), works hard for the collective and fits well in Brighton's pressing scheme, is receiving the right education for today's game under De Zerbi, and so forth.

If he was blessed with a greater burst to create separation in confined spaces, quickly generate overloads and run center halves ragged as a ball-carrier, I would have no problems paying £70 million, or a bit more, for him this very summer, even considering his lack of experience — as he would then be as complete a line-leading center forward prospect (in terms of ingredients, and the heights he could reach) as we have seen in recent years. Also, what if a club like Newcastle United acquires him in the near term (and he turns out to be a ever-present force for them, as well as a what-could-have-been pain in the arse for us?)

United will have some tough decisions to make in coming months: provided Levy allows him to leave Tottenham, do we make a substantial investment in Kane (who is playing at a high level right now and gives us the best chance to contend for major honors immediately, but might decline rapidly in the not-too-distant future), do we prioritize Osimhen (one of the most productive players in the European leagues this year, but will be the most expensive option of the lot (Napoli signed him from Lille for €70 million and will expect to turn a substantial profit) and might take time to adjust to the Premier League) or do we target someone like Ferguson (who is unlikely to hit the ground running, and for all we know, might never turn out to be an an elite center forward, but is better then Kane at a comparable age and could start approaching his peak in as few as 2-3 seasons, and give years upon years of distinguished service to the club (in terms of centrally oriented forwards, we haven't had this type of security since Wayne Rooney)).

Can't decide, personally speaking — keep going back and forth between the options! And a monster fee for much more proven players can be a sub-optimal and risky endeavor, too; in recent years alone, we need look no further than Hazard, Griezmann, Coutinho, even Pogba and Maguire for us, et cetera.

Sums it up nicely. Similar to my sentiments. I think we don't have a team at the moment to just be adding flourishing touches to. I'd rather build for the future with a young core. Osimhen bridges both approaches, while Kane is banking on everything clicking immediately, and I just can't see how that's supposed to happen. We'd need 3-4 more starters of the highest quality (or suitability rather) for that to happen.

I'd take Ferguson above them all.

 

[Cloud7]

This is the sort of player we should be spending that type of money on

 

[ROFLUTION]

He’d cost too much and wont develop unless we play him week in and week out, which would be a bit mad really, considering he’s not even a regular starter at Brighton.

Kane+Rodrigo for me. Both 1 year left on their contract so far more approachable.

 

[Silverman]

And they're obviously all the same person

Are they?

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

His technique is fantastic, one of those players you just have to go for. People were questioning if Kane was a one-season wonder but when you have a certain striking technique it's never in doubt.

 

[UTAretro]

As opposed to holding onto a player that they just signed a new contract with till 2028 and sell him for an obscene amount of money if he progresses as it looks he might over the next season or two?

They're hardly struggling and in desperate need are they. People need to realise that teams considered 'lower' than United aren't just willing to accept us barging in and taking their tarlents for cheap anymore because the financial game has changed, it's either pay up or shut up now, because they don't need to sell all their players to survive.

Thank you!

 

[Hughes35]

Kane is going to last 4 years? I’ll give him 2 years

I will take that bet

 

[rebornsoull]

I'm surprised this young lad isnt mentioned much in the transfer window, from what i've seen of him he could be a good striker. Being a United fan is the icing on the cake.

 

[croadyman]

I'm surprised this young lad isnt mentioned much in the transfer window, from what i've seen of him he could be a good striker. Being a United fan is the icing on the cake.

He will move next year I reckon

 

[Tarrou]

I'm surprised this young lad isnt mentioned much in the transfer window, from what i've seen of him he could be a good striker. Being a United fan is the icing on the cake.

It’s too early. He’s at the perfect club to get game time and develop, he’d be mad to move now and risk stunting his development in my opinion.

 

[marktan]

I'm surprised this young lad isnt mentioned much in the transfer window, from what i've seen of him he could be a good striker. Being a United fan is the icing on the cake.

He's good for an 18 year old but he's so far from the likes of Osimhen and Kane. He'll improve but it's a massive gamble now, it could just as easily be that he doesn't improve much

 

[L1nk]

I'm surprised this young lad isnt mentioned much in the transfer window, from what i've seen of him he could be a good striker. Being a United fan is the icing on the cake.

He’s 18 and just signed a new contract until like 2028, was never gonna move anywhere this summer. Infact unless Brighton goes into freefall I cannot see him moving for at least 2 to 3 years because he’s currently at a perfect club for his development

 

[Erik the Red]

He's 18. In three to four years' time, he will be 21/22, which would be a perfect age to join us and be able to give us the best 10 years of his career. If we sign Kane either this year or next, he will be on the wane in 3-4 years, so that ties in well with Ferguson joining. I would love to see Hojlund joining as well, and it looks like that could be happening this summer. I would also throw in Leonardo to give us options if we are able to offload Martial. Three strikers for a 60 game season is not unreasonable.

 

[Spark]

He's just over a month into a brand new contract brand new contract.

He may move at some point in the next 2-3 years, but depends on a lot. Exciting prospect though, look forward to watching him more next year personally. (With an eye on a potential United transfer obviously!)

Edit: I've just read @L1nk post above - which I've basically just copied

 

[L1nk]

He's 18. In three to four years' time, he will be 21/22, which would be a perfect age to join us and be able to give us the best 10 years of his career. If we sign Kane either this year or next, he will be on the wane in 3-4 years, so that ties in well with Ferguson joining. I would love to see Hojlund joining as well, and it looks like that could be happening this summer. I would also throw in Leonardo to give us options if we are able to offload Martial. Three strikers for a 60 game season is not unreasonable.

Why would Hojlund or Ferguson at such young ages want to give up minutes for each other when they should be playing as much as possible for their development. We're not going to have Hojlund, Ferguson, Kane and whoever Leonardo is

 

[Erik the Red]

Why would Hojlund or Ferguson at such young ages want to give up minutes for each other when they should be playing as much as possible for their development. We're not going to have Hojlund, Ferguson, Kane and whoever Leonardo is

As I said, Ferguson should be joining when Kane is on his way out. In 99 we had Cole and Yorke as first choice strikers, with Sheringham and Solskjaer on the bench. The two subs came on and scored the goals that secured the treble. This is the depth of quality you need to win on all fronts.

Leonardo is a Brazilian kid we have been linked with (£10-15m), who has been doing well at Santos. Options up front allow ETH to mix things up and turn games around, and we can't just rely on one goalscorer. Rashford had a dry spell towards the end of the season, and it really hurt us, as Martial was Martial and Weghorst couldn't hit a barn door.

 

[2cents]

I'm surprised this young lad isnt mentioned much in the transfer window, from what i've seen of him he could be a good striker. Being a United fan is the icing on the cake.

He’s in the perfect place for his development, which is only really kicking off. Be a couple years I think before he moves on, assuming he continues along this very early trajectory.

 

[poleglass red]

As I said, Ferguson should be joining when Kane is on his way out. In 99 we had Cole and Yorke as first choice strikers, with Sheringham and Solskjaer on the bench. The two subs came on and scored the goals that secured the treble. This is the depth of quality you need to win on all fronts.

Leonardo is a Brazilian kid we have been linked with (£10-15m), who has been doing well at Santos. Options up front allow ETH to mix things up and turn games around, and we can't just rely on one goalscorer. Rashford had a dry spell towards the end of the season, and it really hurt us, as Martial was Martial and Weghorst couldn't hit a barn door.

We had 4 strikers back when teams played 2 up front, it's different now with teams typically only having one central striker, so the days of Utd having 4 quality strikers are gone I'm afraid.

 

[L1nk]

We had 4 strikers back when teams played 2 up front, it's different now with teams typically only having one central striker, so the days of Utd having 4 quality strikers are gone I'm afraid.

That and times have changed, younger players aren't content to just sit on the bench doing nothing now when there's ample opportunity to play upfront. Why would Hojlund and Ferguson - at extremely crucial times in their development - be content with just sitting on the bench here when they can lead the line for their respective clubs and then make the jump to a big club that actually wants to play them later down the line, time is on their side

 

[Mr Dilkington]

That and times have changed, younger players aren't content to just sit on the bench doing nothing now when there's ample opportunity to play upfront. Why would Hojlund and Ferguson - at extremely crucial times in their development - be content with just sitting on the bench here when they can lead the line for their respective clubs and then make the jump to a big club that actually wants to play them later down the line, time is on their side

City have Alvarez sitting on the bench.. he’s better than both of players mentioned.

 

[Erik the Red]

That and times have changed, younger players aren't content to just sit on the bench doing nothing now when there's ample opportunity to play upfront. Why would Hojlund and Ferguson - at extremely crucial times in their development - be content with just sitting on the bench here when they can lead the line for their respective clubs and then make the jump to a big club that actually wants to play them later down the line, time is on their side

Firstly, I was only suggesting three strikers, as I appreciate we only play one up top. However, Garnacho is getting plenty of game time, and it is not harming his development. I would argue that having his game time managed is better than running him into the ground playing every three days. Also, striker is the most substituted position, so when we are two goals up we would look to rest Kane (or whoever is first choice), and when we are chasing a game we would throw on a striker or two. Then there are the cup games as well. Over a 60+ game season, all these strikers would get ample game time for their development, and if they are getting paid well, winning trophies as well as learning from the best manager and playing with the best players, it is better than playing for Atlanta, Santos or Brighton (Ferguson to join at age 21/22).

 

[poleglass red]

That and times have changed, younger players aren't content to just sit on the bench doing nothing now when there's ample opportunity to play upfront. Why would Hojlund and Ferguson - at extremely crucial times in their development - be content with just sitting on the bench here when they can lead the line for their respective clubs and then make the jump to a big club that actually wants to play them later down the line, time is on their side

I don't think young players, particuarly talented ones were ever content with just sitting on the bench. In fact, was probably even worse back in the day with less subs being permitted and less games. If we did sign Ferguson, which I honestly don't see unfortunately, he'd be coming in to start. We wouldn't be signing Kane and Ferguson in same season, it would be one or the other, the way things are going it might be neither.

 

[lex talionis]

He's 18. In three to four years' time, he will be 21/22, which would be a perfect age to join us and be able to give us the best 10 years of his career. If we sign Kane either this year or next, he will be on the wane in 3-4 years, so that ties in well with Ferguson joining. I would love to see Hojlund joining as well, and it looks like that could be happening this summer. I would also throw in Leonardo to give us options if we are able to offload Martial. Three strikers for a 60 game season is not unreasonable.

With Kane being very likely out of our reach, I'd do both Hojlund and Ferguson. Both are young, but it would be shrewd business on our part, and a great career move on their part, if they both came to United for what would be roughly the total transfer fee it would cost us to bring in Kane alone, which Levy wouldn't sanction anyway.

 

[golden_blunder]

I'm surprised this young lad isnt mentioned much in the transfer window, from what i've seen of him he could be a good striker. Being a United fan is the icing on the cake.

He’s literally just signed a new contract

 

[sdb4884]

This guy will be a star, apparently is a United fan as well. I hope that spending on big on a striker this season won't stop us from bringing him in the future.

 

[davidmichael]

This guy will be a star, apparently is a United fan as well. I hope that spending on big on a striker this season won't stop us from bringing him in the future.

Although I’ve not seen lots of Hojlund I’d much prefer Ferguson over Hojlund, already Ferguson looks and is built like a man so the physicality of the PL will never be a problem for him whilst he presses and has a good all round game so playing with better players would push his progression on rapidly in my opinion.

 

[GaryLifo]

Reckon we'll go for this lad next summer if he has a full season at Brighton and continues on his current trajectory

 

[Hughes35]

Reckon we'll go for this lad next summer if he has a full season at Brighton and continues on his current trajectory

Is we have Qatar owners I agree.

Otherwise we will go for Kane if he's available on a free / stick with whichever striker we buy this year.

 

[dweb]

Reckon we'll go for this lad next summer if he has a full season at Brighton and continues on his current trajectory

Buy now and loan him back to Brighton. The fee will be colossal if he continues on his current trajectory.

 

[Crimson King]

Buy now and loan him back to Brighton. The fee will be colossal if he continues on his current trajectory.

Brighton would never accept that. This is a complete fantasy.

 

[whitbyviking]

The fee will be colossal now. They will want Caceido money.

 

[Red-Man-Walking]

He's only just signed a new contract, no way Brighton sell him for anything less than stupid money

 

[Solius]

Still think we should've gone in now. He'll explode this season and I could see us having to compete with Arsenal/Liverpool/Chelsea/Newcastle next summer.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Big fan of him.

I think he would have been a good punt before he signed his new contract. Don't think Brighton have much incentive to sell him now when they'll bank on him going up in value.

 

[Blood Mage]

Still think we should've gone in now. He'll explode this season and I could see us having to compete with Arsenal/Liverpool/Chelsea/Newcastle next summer.

Well we'll hopefully have richer, more ambitious owners by then.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Reckon we'll go for this lad next summer if he has a full season at Brighton and continues on his current trajectory

Same mate. Big fan of him, and could be incredible up front for us.

 

[Baxquux]

Big fan of him.

I think he would have been a good punt before he signed his new contract. Don't think Brighton have much incentive to sell him now when they'll bank on him going up in value.

Think Alex MacA had a (provisional) release clause in his contract, so Brighton obviously don't have a point-blank no-clause policy when it comes to contracts. Caciedo's had enough issues leaving : not sure why Ferguson -a united fan and obviously ambitious young player - didn't have his agent negotiate a mutually acceptable (60mish) clause in his contract, even if it would have cost him a few k a week in the interim compared with current new contract terms.

 

[Hammondo]

Although I’ve not seen lots of Hojlund I’d much prefer Ferguson over Hojlund, already Ferguson looks and is built like a man so the physicality of the PL will never be a problem for him whilst he presses and has a good all round game so playing with better players would push his progression on rapidly in my opinion.

I would say his overall play is lacking tbh, and he hasn't been first choice Brighton yet, played 971 mins of PL total, playing 70 min+ only 6 times.

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/evan-ferguson/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/648046/wettbewerb/GB1

on what planet is he ready to be first choice at United?

 

[Idxomer]

Think Alex MacA had a (provisional) release clause in his contract, so Brighton obviously don't have a point-blank no-clause policy when it comes to contracts. Caciedo's had enough issues leaving : not sure why Ferguson -a united fan and obviously ambitious young player - didn't have his agent negotiate a mutually acceptable (60mish) clause in his contract, even if it would have cost him a few k a week in the interim compared with current new contract terms.

Think he's patient and wants to develop at his own pace, Brighton is a great club for that. I wouldn't be surprised if he wants to spend at least another couple of seasons there.

 

[MrQuentin]

Buy now and loan him back to Brighton. The fee will be colossal if he continues on his current trajectory.

Why would Brighton want to loan back a player and impact the development of their own players? They're not some League 1 club in need of a crumb of quality from the PL. Never going to happen.