How good is Evan Ferguson? The 18-year-old Brighton star wanted by Man Utd and Tottenham

Premier League side Brighton can lay claim to some of English football’s most impressive, young talents but few seem to be garnering as much attention as Irish striker Evan Ferguson. Whether for club or country, the 18-year-old star has already shown a remarkable ability to lead the line for the Seagulls and that has led to a number of top clubs taking note of what could be English football's next top striker. 

Market Value

E. Ferguson Centre-Forward

€65.00m

Indeed, some of Europe’s biggest clubs were linked with a move for the young forward in the summer transfer window and it’s easy to see why. After making the step up to the Seagull’s first team last season, Ferguson has been nothing short of a revelation in the Premier League and has quickly been tipped as one of the English top-flight’s most promising young players.

How much is Evan Ferguson worth?

In no time at all, Ferguson’s market value has shot up from €600k at the start of last season to where it now stands at an incredible €65 million. In the most recent Transfermarkt market value update of the Premier League Ferguson's value increased by €30m. What that means is that over the course of 2023, the young striker's market value has increased by an incredible 6400%, comfortably placing him top of the list of players with the largest increases in market value during 2023 in the Premier League.

How good is Evan Ferguson? 

Standing tall at 1.83 metres (6 ft 0), Ferguson is unquestionably a call back to a previous era of powerful No.9s that dominated the opposing box in the air and with the strength to hold off defenders on the ground too. And that has meant an impressive goal return since he started making his way through the ranks at Brighton. In the club’s U-21 squad Ferguson bagged no less than 18 goals and three assists, which quickly led to him getting called up to the first team by Graham Potter in the 21/22 season. 

Although Ferguson only made a handful of first team appearances in that season, he came on leaps and bounds in the following campaign. Which saw the young striker bag no less than 16 goals and five assists in 34 appearances for the club. When we break that down into the player’s average performance for the club, it worksed out at a very impressive 0.90 goals and assists per 90 for Roberto De Zerbi’s side. Which, in no uncertain terms, is a remarkable return for any player at a Premier League club, let alone one that is only 18 years of age. 

To the delight of Brighton fans, Ferguson has since shown no signs of stopping in the 2023/24 campaign. To date, the player has bagged four goals in his first nine games for his club and is quickly showing signs of being one of the league's most potent strikers. According to Opta, Ferguson picked up 11 shots on target over the course of those first nine games. Only three players in the Premier League have managed to register more than the Irish striker at this point in the season. 

Who wants to sign Evan Ferguson?

Due to Ferguson’s impressive ability to take to the Premier League like a duck to water, it was only a matter of time before the young Irish talent found his name linked to some of the biggest names in English football. And it seems as though most of the English top-flight's biggest clubs have already taken a serious interest in signing the striker sooner rather than later. 

According to the Daily Mail, Manchester United are desperate to re-sign the talent that once played for their youth academy and have added him to a four-player shortlist of transfer targets for next season. Similarly, the Sun believe that Chelsea and Tottenham are also hoping to sign the striker, with the latter still in need of a long-term replacement for Harry Kane. The Manchester Evening News even went as far as to suggest that Man City may join the race to sign the forward, but are likely to prioritise a contract extension for Haaland over signing another forward anytime soon.