Evan Ferguson

Evan Ferguson

Ferguson warming up for Brighton & Hove Albion in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Evan Joe Ferguson [1]
Date of birth	(2004-10-19) 19 October 2004 (age 19)
Place of birth	Bettystown, Ireland
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [2]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Brighton & Hove Albion
Number	28
Youth career
	St Kevin's Boys
	Bohemians
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2021	Bohemians	3	(0)
2021–	Brighton & Hove Albion	47	(12)
International career‡
2018–2019	Republic of Ireland U15	4	(2)
2019–2020	Republic of Ireland U17	3	(3)
2021–2022	Republic of Ireland U21	10	(1)
2022–	Republic of Ireland	12	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:30, 31 March 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:48, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

Evan Joe Ferguson (born 19 October 2004) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion and the Republic of Ireland national team.

Club career

Early life

A native of Bettystown, County Meath, Ferguson is son of former professional footballer Barry Ferguson who played for Coventry City, Colchester United, Hartlepool United, Northampton Town, Longford Town, Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers and Sporting Fingal during his playing career. ^[3] His mother is English. ^[4] He grew up supporting Manchester United. ^[5] He attended Coláiste na hInse growing up. ^[6]

Ferguson began playing with the prestigious Dublin schoolboy club St Kevin's Boys, before moving on to the youth section of League of Ireland club Bohemians, where he would play in the National Underage Leagues. ^[7] In December 2020, he scored in his last game at underage level for the club as his side won the League of Ireland U17 Division, beating rivals Shamrock Rovers 2–0 in the final. ^{[8] [9]}

Bohemians

Ferguson made his debut in senior football on 11 July 2019: a 1–1 draw with Chelsea in a friendly at Dalymount Park, aged just 14 at the time which made him the club's youngest ever player at senior level. ^{[10] [11]} His competitive debut in senior football came on 20 September 2019, replacing Luke Wade-Slater late on against Derry City at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium. ^{[12] [13]} Ferguson's first goals at senior level came on 28 January 2020, scoring two goals in a 4–2 pre-season friendly win over Drogheda United. ^[14] He would go on to make four competitive appearances in total over his two seasons at the club. ^[15]

Brighton & Hove Albion

2021–22 season

In January 2021, he signed for the academy of Brighton & Hove Albion, ^{[16] [17]} who beat fellow Premier League club Liverpool to his signature. ^[18] On 24 August 2021, he made his first team debut, replacing Enock Mwepu, in the 81st minute of a 2–0 win away against Championship side Cardiff City in the EFL Cup second round. ^{[19] [20]} On 6 September, he was nominated for the Premier League 2 Player of the Month award for August. ^[21] He scored his first ever professional goal, scoring Brighton under-23s equaliser in an eventual 2–1 away win at League Two side Northampton in the EFL Trophy on 2 November. ^[22] Ferguson won his club's goal of the month competition for November 2021 for his goal against Everton U23s at Goodison Park. ^[23] His first involvement in a matchday squad in the Premier League came on 15 December 2021, when he was an unused substitute in the home defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers. ^[24] Ferguson made a second appearance of the season for the senior side on 8 January 2022, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute where he assisted Jakub Moder's equaliser in the eventual 2–1 – after extra-time — away victory over West Bromwich Albion of the Championship in the FA Cup third round. ^[25] Four weeks later, Ferguson made another substitute appearance again coming in the FA Cup, this time away at Tottenham Hotspur on 5 February, in a 3–1 defeat for the Seagulls. ^[26] On 19 February 2022, Ferguson made his Premier League debut for Brighton, coming on as a substitute in the 3–0 home loss against bottom side Burnley. ^[27]

2022–23 season

On 24 August 2022, Ferguson scored his first Albion goal himself, set up by fellow academy player Cameron Peupion, in the 90+4th minute of the 3–0 away win over League One side Forest Green Rovers in the EFL Cup second round. ^[28] On 19 October 2022, on his 18th birthday, Ferguson signed his first long-term professional contract at Brighton, keeping him at the club until 2026. ^[29] On 31 December, in the 4–2 home loss against Arsenal, he made his third Premier League appearance from the bench for Brighton where he scored his first career league goal. At 18 years old he became both Ireland and Brighton's youngest ever Premier League goalscorer. ^[30] Three days later on 3 January 2023, Ferguson started his first Premier League match, scoring again in the 4–1 away victory over Everton. ^[31] On 25 April, Ferguson committed his future to Brighton after signing a long-term contract until 2028. ^[32] After a successful breakthrough season scoring 10 goals in 25 appearances Ferguson went on to win Brighton's Young Player of the Season at the end of season awards. ^[33]

2023–24 season

Ferguson opened his goal account for the 2023–24 season in the opening game on 12 August, after coming on as a substitute he netted a 95th minute effort to seal a 4–1 home win over Premier League newcomers Luton Town. ^[34] On 2 September, Ferguson scored his first club career hat-trick against Newcastle United in a 3–1 home league win. ^[35] Hence, he became the fourth player to achieve this feat at 18 years old, following Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and Chris Bart-Williams. ^[36] He also joined Cesc Fàbregas as the only two non-English players to reach 10 Premier League goal involvements while aged eighteen and under. ^[37] On 29 October, Fergusson scored his 11th Premiership goal the 26th minute of in a 1–1 draw against Fulham at the Amex Stadium. The BBC reported that Igor Julio and Pascal Groß were involved in the build-up, Gross played the ball into Ferguson's feet and he had the space and composure to take a touch and calmly stroke the ball low past Fulham keeper Bernd Leno for the opening goal. ^{[38] [39]} On 10 November, he extended his contract until 2029. ^[40] Ferguson brought his season tally to 6 against Nottingham Forest on 25 November, when he scored in the 26th minute from a Pascal Groß pass to make it 1–1, in a game that Brighton eventually won by 3 goals to 2. ^{[41] [42]}

International career

Ferguson has represented the Republic of Ireland at under-15, under-17 and under-21 youth level. On 27 August 2021, he was called up alongside Brighton teammate Andrew Moran to the Republic of Ireland U21 for the first time, for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Luxembourg. ^[43] He made his U21 debut in a 2–0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zenica. ^[44]

Ferguson was called up to the senior squad for the first time in November 2022, for friendlies against Norway and Malta, with the 18-year-old describing that he was "absolutely buzzing" with being selected. ^[45] He made his senior debut against Norway on 17 November, coming on as a 89th minute substitute for goalscorer Alan Browne in the 2–1 home defeat. ^[46] Ferguson made his first start on 22 March 2023, against Latvia at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in a friendly. He scored Ireland's second goal of the game on 17 minutes, from a knockback by Michael Obafemi. Ireland won the game 3–2, with Ferguson being replaced by Troy Parrott after 73 minutes. ^[47]

In June 2023, Ferguson scored his first competitive goal for Ireland during a 3–0 victory over Gibraltar in the Aviva stadium in a Euro 2024 qualifier. ^[48] In October 2023, Ferguson scored his second competitive goal against Gibraltar at the Estádio Algarve.

Style of play

Ferguson has been described by Premier League record goalscorer Alan Shearer as looking "like the real deal. Left foot, right foot, headers, pace, aggression, intuition; there is no obvious weakness to his game." ^[49]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 31 March 2024 ^[50]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [lower-alpha 1]		League cup [lower-alpha 2]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bohemians	2019	LOI Premier Division	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2020	LOI Premier Division	2	0	1	0	—		—		3	0
	Total		3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Brighton & Hove Albion U21	2021–22	—			—		—		2 [lower-alpha 3]	1	2	1
	2022–23	—			—		—		3 [lower-alpha 3]	1	3	1
	Total		—		—		—		5	2	5	2
Brighton & Hove Albion	2021–22	Premier League	1	0	2	0	1	0	—		4	0
	2022–23	Premier League	19	6	4	3	2	1	—		25	10
	2023–24	Premier League	27	6	2	0	0	0	7 [lower-alpha 4]	0	36	6
	Total		47	12	8	3	3	1	7	0	65	16
Career total			50	12	9	3	3	1	12	2	74	18

1. Includes FAI Cup, FA Cup
2. Includes League of Ireland Cup, EFL Cup
3. Appearances in EFL Trophy
4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 26 March 2024 ^[51]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Republic of Ireland	2022	2	0
	2023	8	3
	2024	2	0
Total		12	3

Scores and results list the Republic of Ireland's goal tally first. ^[51]

List of international goals scored by Evan Ferguson

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	22 March 2023	Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland	Latvia	2–0	3–2	Friendly
2	19 June 2023	Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland	Gibraltar	2–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
3	16 October 2023	Estádio Algarve, Faro, Portugal	Gibraltar	1–0	4–0	UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Honours

Individual

• FAI Young International Player of the Year: 2022 ^[52]
• Brighton & Hove Albion Young Player of the Season: 2022–23 ^[33]

References

1. "2022/23 Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
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4. Rowan, Paul. "Could Evan Ferguson go the same way as Declan Rice and Jack Grealish?". ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 20 February 2023.
5. "Ferguson: I grew up watching Welbeck". www.brightonandhovealbion.com.
6. "Evan Ferguson, concrete playground to golden boy – the rise of a teen sensation" . theathletic.com. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.}
7. "'Division, in-fighting, backstabbing - soccer in Ireland is absolutely plagued by that'". 27 June 2021.
8. "Bohemians see off Shamrock Rovers to claim U17 National League crown". 21 December 2020.
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11. "Meath teenager heading for Brighton".
12. McLaughlin, Kevin (20 September 2019). "Evan Ferguson, 14, makes Bohs debut in Derry stalemate". RTÉ.ie .
13. "Bohemians 'a little bit shocked by the negative reaction' to senior debut for 14-year-old Evan Ferguson". 2 October 2019.
14. "Evan Almighty: Bettystown boy downs Drogs with two goal second-half salvo". 28 January 2020.
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27. "Brighton 0-3 Burnley: Weghorst inspires Clarets to first win since October - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
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30. "Brave Albion beaten by the leaders". Brighton & Hove Albion. 31 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
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36. "Evan Ferguson nets hat-trick as Brighton wonderkid joins Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler in Premier League record books". talkSPORT. 2 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
37. "Ferguson stuns Newcastle with brilliant hat-trick". Brighton & Hove Albion. 2 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
38. "Premier League: Haaland gives Man City lead at Man Utd, as Liverpool win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
39. "Classy Ferguson nets again but Brighton held by Fulham". 29 October 2023.
40. Camillin, Paul (10 November 2023). "Evan Ferguson signs new contract". Brighton & Hove Albion.
41. "Nottingham Forest vs Brighton Live Scores | LiveScore". www.livescore.com. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
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43. "U21 | Jim Crawford names squad for Bosnia and Luxembourg qualifiers | Football Association of Ireland". www.fai.ie.
44. "REPORT | Bosnia U21 0-2 Ireland U21 | Football Association of Ireland". www.fai.ie.
45. "It's Fergie's time, as young striker called up by Ireland". Brighton & Hove Albion. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
46. "Republic of Ireland 1-2 Norway: Visitors strike late to snatch friendly win". BBC Sport. 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
47. Leahy, Ed (22 March 2023). "Chiedozie Ogbene secures hard-fought Ireland win against Latvia as Evan Ferguson opens his account". RTE Sport . Retrieved 23 March 2023.
48. Leahy, Ed (19 June 2023). "Magic Johnston off the bench to guide Ireland to victory over Gibraltar". rte.ie. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
49. Shearer, Alan. "Alan Shearer on Evan Ferguson: 'What do I love about him? Everything'". The Athletic.
50. "E. Ferguson". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
51. "Evan Ferguson". National Football Teams. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
52. "Winners unveiled at the 33rd FAI International Awards | Football Association of Ireland".