Evan Ferguson is an Irish cult hero on the rise

I have a weird affinity for the country of Ireland. I can’t really explain why. Yes, I have an Irish last name, but I know next to nothing about my Irish ancestors. I’ve never visited the country. I have no long-lost Irish cousins who are my pen pals.

But when Evan Ferguson burst onto the scene with his first goals for Brighton & Hove Albion, I thought, finally. Ireland had been waiting for its next Premier League legend. I had been waiting for an Irish Premier League great for whatever weird reason. And it seems like he’s finally arrived.

Ferguson has a legitimate opportunity to become Ireland’s all-time Premier League goalscorer, a title that Los Angeles Galaxy legend Robbie Keane currently holds. Keane rose to prominence in England, playing at Tottenham Hotspur and scored 112 goals in 306 Premier League appearances. But in the glimpses fans have seen of Ferguson so far, he has flashed the potential to achieve even more than his predecessor.

Ferguson began his professional career with Bohemian Football Club in Dublin, but Brighton scooped him up in the January 2021 transfer window, and he made his debut for the Seagulls early in the 2021-22 season.

Brighton has shown in recent years that when the club signs teenagers, they’re likely to become key first-team players sooner rather than later. In addition to Ferguson, Paraguayan forward Julio Enciso and Argentinian midfielder Facundo Buonanotte have emerged as young talents who could become Premier League stalwarts. When Brighton gives young players opportunities, it pays to take notice.

For the 2021-22 season, Ferguson bounced between the first team and Brighton’s under-23 squad, but as the 2022-23 campaign progressed, the Irishman became a key player in Brighton’s rotation. In late December and early January, the period in which Premier League clubs play an absurd number of matches, Ferguson started scoring regularly for the first team.

He notched his first senior goal in a substitute appearance against Arsenal Football Club, who were then top of the league. It wasn’t the prettiest goal, but Ferguson went head-to-head with Arsenal centerback William Saliba and bowled him over before slotting the ball coolly between Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale’s legs. The nature of Ferguson’s first Premier League goal could serve as a preview of how he’ll find future success.

Fans have seen a similar type of player in Erling Haaland at Manchester City, the physically dominant striker who plays like a classic No. 9. Haaland challenges opposition centerbacks with his speed and is not afraid to physically overpower them as he bears down on goal. The strategy has worked well, and Haaland has already scored 52 goals in 53 appearances in his first season at City. At about 6 feet tall with a solid frame, Ferguson can use size to his advantage and emulate Haaland’s physicality on a slightly smaller scale.

Ferguson also possesses immaculate timing with his runs in the box. With his third Premier League goal — a header against Leicester — Ferguson bided his time at the top of the 18-yard box, waiting for leftback Pervis Estupiñán to send in a cross, at which point Ferguson shifted expertly into a shooting position and tucked the ball away. Not all young strikers have the patience to do that.

Encouragingly, Ferguson’s shooting numbers are quite strong. In the 2022-23 season, Ferguson averaged 1.61 shots on target per 90 minutes in Premier League play. In a vacuum, that number might not sound great, but Haaland — who scored 36 Premier League goals this season — only had 1.72 shots on target per 90 minutes himself. If Ferguson marginally improves his finishing and shot positioning, he could easily become one of the Premier League’s top goalscorers.

Thankfully for Ferguson, if the 2022-23 season was his breakout year, 2023-24 will give him a bigger platform to become a regular goalscorer. By finishing sixth in the Premier League, Brighton qualified to play in the Europa League in 2023-24. This will give the team at least an extra six games in its schedule to rotate the squad and give different players opportunities. Even if Manager Roberto De Zerbi considers Ferguson too raw to be the club’s first-choice nine next season, the additional minutes to share around the squad will help the young Irishman build his profile regardless.

I remain bullish on Ferguson’s long-term potential to be a top Premier League striker, but given that Brighton will be adjusting to European competition, and that other Premier League squads will have more familiarity with De Zerbi’s style, the Seagulls and Ferguson may stumble slightly in 2023-24. So if he doesn’t score a million goals next year, don’t be surprised. After all, Harry Kane didn’t become a Premier League regular until he was 21. Ferguson has a head start, but development takes time.

Ferguson, whether for Brighton or another top English club, has all the talent required to be a 20-plus goals per-season striker sooner rather than later. You never know how long a player will stay in England, but if he does keep playing in the Premier League, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ferguson join the select group of players to score at least 150 Premier League goals. Only 10 have done it, including Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and the aforementioned Kane.

Perhaps more importantly, for both his long-term notoriety and my personal Gaelic interests, if Ferguson could help Ireland qualify for its first World Cup since 2002, he would become an Irish sporting legend.

Jack Hallinan is a rising junior writing about the top wonderkids in men’s and women’s soccer in his column, “Rising Ballers,” which runs every other Wednesday.