OF COURSE THERE is a League of Ireland link.
Bohemians and Dalymount Park provide the common ground.
That is where an 18-year-old Chiedozie Ogbene made his Premier Division debut as a late substitute for Cork City on 30 October 2015.
Evan Ferguson turned 11 just over a week earlier and was showing promise with St Kevin’s Boys in the Dublin District Schoolboys League.
Three years later he would make his own Bohs bow in a pre-season friendly against Chelsea.
Today, this pair are senior Republic of Ireland internationals and meet in the Premier League as Brighton welcome newly-promoted Luton Town to the Amex Stadium.
A journey in professional football that started at Dalymount Park, for Bohs and Cork respectively, but took very different paths to reach this point.
Ferguson and Ogbene’s fortunes highlight how drastic the trek can be in attempting to scale the mountain. Both will now want to establish themselves at the summit, and while their trajectory has been varied, they now have the same challenge.
Ferguson’s emergence in England’s top flight last season was stunning. Under new head coach Roberto De Zerbi, the teenager rose to prominence because of his ability on the pitch and capability to deliver what the Italian was demanding tactically.
A lethal combination of brains and brawn that will be tested even more in his second season. The spotlight will be shining from this afternoon, but whether he’s in the full glare of the starting XI remains to be seen.
Brighton’s first summer signing was Joao Pedro from Watford for a club record €35 million (£30m) and, despite Deniz Undav headng to Stuttgart on loan, rotation seems to be the name of the game as the Seagulls also get to grips with a Europa League campaign – a first taste of Europe in the club’s history.
Pedro started a couple of the pre-season games up top with his former Watford teammate Danny Welbeck. Kaoru Mitoma — who tended to operate from wide left with one central operator and Solly March on the right — hinted at changes in how De Zerbi wants Brighton to function this time around.
“The positioning is different both in defence and attack now, as they [the new signings] have different characteristics [to the players that have left]. I have to try to let them show their best abilities while I try to show it myself. There is still some things we need to improve, so we want to work on it in the last preparation week,” Mitoma explained.
These are the challenges Ferguson, who didn’t start a match in pre-season, will have to accept and rise to. Considering he will only turn 19 a couple of days before Brighton travel to face champions Manchester City on 21 October, and is working under the highly-rated De Zerbi, patience will be an important virtue in his development.
Of course, should he pick up where he left off last season – 13 goals and five assists for club and country – that will bring a challenge of its own for his coach, who must then suitably manage the situation.
Ogbene was still at Cork and about to sign for Limerick when he was 19, a reminder of Ferguson’s startling development.
“It was a decision I couldn’t reject,” the 26-year-old said of the Luton transfer.
“This is the league everyone dreams of playing in. Yes, it’s going to be a difficult challenge but it’s a challenge I’m really excited for. That’s how I’m going to develop, how we’re going to develop as a club and to compete at the highest level. We’ll go in as the underdogs. It will be a difficult year but it’s a year we’re ready and excited for.”
Like Pedro at Brighton, Ogebene was also Luton’s first signing this summer, his career to this point an example of how attitude, ability and risk forged his future.
For all the talk of the club’s antiquated Kenilworth Road stadium offering an advantage against the pampered Premier League elite, Luton won fewer than half of their home games during the 2022/23 Championship campaign – nine wins, nine draws and four defeats.
An away game with Brighton on the opening day offers an early opportunity to see how head coach Rob Edwards utilises Ogbene.
Edwards – who added former Everton and Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley to his squad on a free transfer this week – told Ogbene he would be battling it out for one of two striker positions in his preferred 3-5-2 formation.
Luton will play with an energy and aggression that is established from the first line of defence, and when they do get the chance to break it will be a case of springing forward quickly, with the emphasis on Ogbene leading the charge.
So, a new season offers a new challenge for Ferguson under De Zerbi, while Ogbene is set to embrace the one he has fought for.
