THE TALK SURROUNDING Evan Ferguson has only intensified since making his senior Ireland debut last week.
It’s something he has been used to since his Bohemians bow as a 14-year-old against Chelsea in a pre-season friendly at Dalymount Park.
From there came a move to Brighton & Hove Albion. Swift progression followed and, under the guidance of Graham Potter, he was introduced to the first-team squad last year.
A substitute appearance in the Premier League back in February added to the sense of anticipation about what the future might hold.
Not that the 18-year-old will be paying any attention.
“I don’t really think about those sort of things. If I get the chance to play, I will try take it. I don’t really look at the outside and see what people are saying. I take it game by game and don’t really, like, put an expectancy on myself,” he explains.
“You see the odd bits coming up [on social] but I wouldn’t be searching my name and seeing what people are saying.”
At the moment it is nothing but good. Ferguson finds himself on the cusp of a future which, with a new Brighton contract to take him up to 2026, offers so much promise.
There is excitement because he is new, the element of the unknown adding to the allure at a time when Ireland continues to look for someone to provide fresh impetus in attack.
It’s no surprise, then, to hear who he is trying to emulate when it comes to making an impact at club level.
“I think everyone at the minute is looking at [Erling] Haaland and what he’s doing. The [goal] record and the goals he is producing are unbelievable, so every striker is looking at him,” he says.
“Even the strikers in the Premier League are looking at him and saying ‘how is he getting that many goals and what is he doing differently?’”
At Brighton, the army of analysts on hand to provide support are also highlighting the Manchester City star to try and improve their own strikers, with Ferguson explaining yesterday at the launch of the FAI’s Football for All – Futsal in the Yard programme.
“They would show you different movements and how he does it, and show you different players as well and try bring different bits into your game.”
Ferguson was born two years after Ireland last played at a World Cup in 2002 and was only 11 when record goal scorer Robbie Keane hung up his boots at international level in 2016.
He was still the “obvious” idol as a child but as he got older it was David McGoldrick who caught the eye.
“I liked watching him, I think he’s a very good player. I just liked the way he dropped in and tried to link the play. He was very unselfish in that way. He was just a team player.”
Ferguson has got a taste of what it is to be part of the current senior set-up, his two substitute appearances against Norway and Malta
“Everyone would come up to you, they’re all sound. They’re a proper welcoming group. It was nice that it was easy to get involved in the group because they all are very sound,” he states.
“They’re all welcoming, they all come up to you and ask you questions. It’s just normal, it’s not like they look down at you. They see you as one of them,” the teenager continued, adding that he was tested in training to get an idea of his ability.
“They sort of have to do that. They test you and welcome you at the same time but going into it you sort of expect that. They want to see what your level is at, what you can do and what you can’t do. That’s to be expected.”
With that new deal extending his stay on England’s south coast for at least another four years, a loan move this January is on the cards to speed up his development with regular first-team football.
New Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi felt last month that Ferguson still “needs to improve, and he needs to grow”, and with a handful of Championship clubs in contention, the Ashbourne native may soon get the opportunity.
“Yeah, definitely. I think that’s what loans are there for, to go out and get experience. If we have the chat and it’s the right thing for me at this moment in time then we’ll have a look at it.”
At Brighton, the emphasis is on what he has been doing to achieve different milestones rather than laying out a specific progress plan with end goals to strive towards.
“Not really where you’re going, more so how you have been? After a few months they’d be like ‘how do you think you have done over the last few months? How do you think this or that has gone?’ It’s not really looking into the future, it’s more how have you done, look back on the last few months and see what you can improve on.
“I think it’s different every chat you have because you are playing different games, going though clips of games and seeing what you could and couldn’t do better. It’s different every time.
“They’ve got everyone, psychologists and so on. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to but it’s there if you need it.
“You see some lads come back after a few years, going over and struggling and coming back after a few years, it’s not easy. But at Brighton they help you a lot with that sort of stuff and are very good with people.”
