BRIGHTON & HOVE, England — When asked to sum up his incredible journey as a Premier League footballer to this point, Brighton & Hove Albion‘s 19-year-old striker Evan Ferguson makes sure to highlight the speed of his development.
“I’d say it’s just gone very quick,” Ferguson tells ESPN. “When you’re in and around that environment and that atmosphere, it feels like you don’t have a minute. Whether you’re training, you’re recovering, there’s a game every few days, you know what I mean? It’s gone very quick.”
Ferguson has been living life in the fast lane and it’s easy to forget he’s still a teenager. Since making his Brighton debut in February 2022 he has established himself as first-team player in the Premier League, and also for the Republic of Ireland, for whom he made his international debut that November.
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With 10 goals in 25 appearances as a virtual unknown last season, Ferguson was lauded as Brighton’s next ready-made superstar — linked with a £100 million move to some of Europe’s elite clubs — and continued his meteoric rise when he scored in this season’s opener against Luton Town. Two games later he became the sixth-youngest player to score a hat trick in the Premier League with a wonderful display in a 3-1 win against Newcastle United.
The 6-foot striker showed everything that day: His first goal was a poacher’s finish after goalkeeper Nick Pope had dropped the ball; for his second, Ferguson slipped back into midfield, collected the ball and curled a 25-yard shot into the bottom corner; the third was a deflected shot from outside the box.
With the ability to make such an impact at a young age, it’s easy to see why Ferguson idolises Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney. Growing up supporting United, the teenage forward is following in Rooney’s illustrious footsteps in the Premier League.
“Coming in and playing as a young, I felt like I could relate to it a little bit, doing things a bit younger. So I feel like him in a way,” he says in an interview with ESPN in February.
Arriving sooner than expected has been a hallmark of Ferguson’s young career to date. In 2019, he made his senior debut at 14 years old in a 1-1 preseason draw against Chelsea for his hometown team, Bohemian FC, in the heart of Dublin. It was Frank Lampard’s first game as manager at Chelsea. Ferguson, a boy not yet near becoming a man, came off the bench and went up against Chelsea’s imposing defender Kurt Zouma. “It was a mad experience,” Ferguson remembers.
The Bohemian FC captain that day, Derek Pender, recalls the battle well, too. “He held him [Zouma] off,” he tells ESPN, before pointing out that Ferguson played a part in a Bohemians’ equaliser. “He was like an old school centre-forward. I remember speaking to his dad after the end of the game saying: ‘That’s it. He’s coming in with the first team now.'”
From there, Ferguson’s career skyrocketed. “You’re thinking here’s our new main No. 9 because he was so good in the game,” Pender adds. “After that debut, there was a lot of hype around him. He stayed with the squad for a couple of weeks after and came up and made his debut in the League of Ireland. Again, [there was] a lot of noise around him and for somebody so young, but Evan took it all in his stride.”
Despite his solid performances and assured attitude, the club and Ferguson’s family agreed that he would return to the youth team and he was placed in the under-17s — a side then coached by Pender himself.
“They did a really good thing for Evan and took him out of the limelight, tried to keep the hype down,” Pender says. “Over here, people get ahead of themselves, and when you see a 14-year-old playing in the League of Ireland he was getting a lot of attention that he probably didn’t need.”
Returning to Bohemians’ youth setup would prove fruitful: First, Ferguson led the youth team to the U17 title, playing a starring role in the final against Shamrock Rovers as his brilliant goal set up a 2-0 win.
“He took the game by the scruff of the neck,” Pender says. “He worked so hard that game to ensure that we won. I’m not talking about just playing as a No. 9. He was playing full-back, left wing, everywhere, just to try and make sure that we got over the line and we won the game, because he knew I think in his head that this is it [his last game before moving to Brighton].”
Then, he set his sights on securing a professional contract and went on trial at a few different clubs — including Liverpool, Manchester United, Celtic and Everton — before settling upon Brighton.
“I just sort of got the feeling,” Ferguson says. “I knew this was the club that I wanted to go to. They have a pathway [to the first team], so I took the chance.”
