{"id":286270,"date":"2023-09-04T11:35:30","date_gmt":"2023-09-04T11:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/?p=286270"},"modified":"2023-09-04T11:35:30","modified_gmt":"2023-09-04T11:35:30","slug":"evan-ferguson-is-republic-of-irelands-beacon-of-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/soccer\/evan-ferguson-is-republic-of-irelands-beacon-of-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"Evan Ferguson is Republic of Ireland&apos;s beacon of hope"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Evan Ferguson is Ireland&#8217;s beacon of hope and Euro 2024 qualification rests firmly on the Brighton teenager &#8211; after his Newcastle heroics it&#8217;s no wonder he&#8217;s getting compared to Haaland<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Evan Ferguson netted a hat-trick as Brighton beat Newcastle 3-1 on Saturday\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The 18-year-old is one of the most promising young players in the top flight<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Ferguson is Ireland&#8217;s main hope as they try to reach\u00a0Euro 2024 next summer<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Fergie-time is back and world football has clocked on to a breezy 18-year-old Irish lad on England\u2019s south coast.<\/p>\n<p>Forget that holding midfielders are in vogue, nothing fuels the sport\u2019s imagination like the player who can put the ball in the onion sack. Again and again.<\/p>\n<p>Brighton\u2019s Evan Ferguson, who floored Newcastle United on Saturday, has that knack. In the Premier League, in particular, such an ability carries a currency like no other.<\/p>\n<p>Alan Shearer, Harry Kane, Thierry Henry, Sergio Aguero, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Ruud van Nistelrooy, prize predators all, had it in spades.<\/p>\n<p>While it\u2019s too early to bracket Ferguson in that league, the Irish teenager is on the right track and couldn\u2019t be in a better place ahead of the Euro qualifiers against France and Holland this week.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/04\/10\/74994745-0-Evan_Ferguson_netted_a_hat_trick_as_Brighton_comfortably_defeate-a-49_1693818476663.jpg\" height=\"446\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Evan Ferguson netted a hat-trick as Brighton comfortably defeated Newcastle on Saturday<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/04\/10\/74995149-0-Ferguson_was_again_on_hand_after_the_break_to_double_his_side_s_-a-50_1693818485597.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The 18-year-old is one of the most promising young players in the Premier League right now<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/04\/10\/75033115-0-image-a-51_1693818493442.jpg\" height=\"438\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Ireland&#8217;s hopes of qualifying for Euro 2024 already seem heavily reliant on the Brighton striker<\/p>\n<p>After becoming the youngest non-English player to score 10 goals, it uncorked a torrent of tributes.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I don\u2019t want to get carried away but I do see a hint of Haaland about him,\u2019 said Gary Lineker on Match of the Day on Saturday night. \u2018His stature and his movement and stuff like that. His youth, as well. He\u2019s got it.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Ian Wright, who also knows a top forward when he sees one, gave his approval too.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He\u2019s got everything,\u2019 added Wright. \u2018Great movement, fantastic first touch, takes up great positions. He\u2019s only going to get better.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>On Talksport yesterday, former Irish targetman Tony Cascarino doffed his cap.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He\u2019s one hell of a player. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if he ends up breaking the British transfer record fee.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Former Brighton Under 18 coach, Mark Beard, who has also tipped Irish midfielder Andy Moran for great things, predicted before Saturday\u2019s treble that Ferguson could go for more than \u20ac150m (\u00a3128m).<\/p>\n<p>Brighton are no strangers to buying small and selling big, having banked vast sums for Moises Caicedo (\u20ac116m\/\u00a399.2m), Marc Cucurella (\u20ac65.3m\/\u00a355.9m), Ben White (\u20ac58.5m\/\u00a350.1m) and Alexis Mac Allister (\u20ac42m\/\u00a335.9m) in the past two summer transfer windows.<\/p>\n<p>At some point, they will cash in on Ferguson, not 19 until next month. Under contract until 2028, they are in no rush to sell but when they do, there will be a stampede and Ferguson, at his rate of progression, will command a fee in excess of \u20ac100m. Manchester United, crying out for a striker, would appear a perfect match.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever unfolds, it\u2019s without question that Ferguson\u2019s fee will smash the current Irish record held by Nathan Collins, and will lead to seven-figure windfalls for Bohemians, and St Kevin\u2019s Boys too, for their part in nurturing his career.<\/p>\n<p>His current strike rate is a Premier League goal every 115 minutes, which is better than every other striker bar Aguero, who scored every 108 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Better than Shearer, Kane and Co? Maybe. They are the conversations Ferguson could soon be part of if he maintains his goals-per-minutes ratio. After his media duties were over on Saturday, when he admitted what had happened \u2018was hard to take in\u2019, Ferguson returned to an ovation from his team-mates in the dressing room.<\/p>\n<p>When Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi followed him in, he smacked hands with every player, moving on quickly. Ferguson was treated the same as everyone. There was no special treatment for the match-winner, which will help keep him grounded.<\/p>\n<p>Football is awash with hard-luck stories of tyros who explode on the scene, flash across the skies and then vanish. Ferguson won\u2019t fall into that trap.<\/p>\n<p>Brighton CEO Paul Barber described him as \u2018humble, with a strong work ethic\u2019 and a \u2018very, very, very decent person with really strong values from a good family.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve been here before with a teenage Irish striker at Brighton in the headlines for scoring feats in the Premier League against Champions League opponents.<\/p>\n<p>Long before Ferguson took flight, Aaron Connolly famously surfed a wave in October 2019 and was thrust forward for a crucial Euro 2020 double-header, only to slip back into the shadows.<\/p>\n<p>By coincidence, Connolly\u2019s recall to the squad this week reflects his rehabilitation after a spell when he appeared lost and he deserves credit for getting his career back on track.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/04\/10\/75033231-0-image-a-53_1693818626053.jpg\" height=\"365\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Gary Lineker was one of many to heap praise on Ferguson, likening him to Erling Haaland<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/04\/10\/75033225-0-image-a-54_1693818630721.jpg\" height=\"438\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The 18-year-old is the first elite striker Ireland have produced since the days of Robbie Keane<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/04\/10\/75033121-0-image-a-55_1693818634295.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Ferguson is in a great place ahead of tough Euro 2024 qualifiers against France and Holland<\/p>\n<p>As for Ferguson, he\u2019s not the sort to be distracted, not with dad Barry and other sound heads around him. His goal is goals and where they may take him.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He can become big, big, big\u2019 said De Zerbi.<\/p>\n<p>How big? Tests against the elite defenders of France and Holland this week will give a further indication of that.<\/p>\n<p>This Irish shooting star, the first since Robbie Keane, is definitely here to stay.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12478197\/Evan-Ferguson-Republic-Ireland-Euro-2024-Brighton-Newcastle.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Evan Ferguson is Ireland&#8217;s beacon of hope and Euro 2024 qualification rests firmly on the Brighton teenager &#8211; after his<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286269,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Evan Ferguson is Republic of Ireland&amp;apos;s beacon of hope - Sports Love Me<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/soccer\/evan-ferguson-is-republic-of-irelands-beacon-of-hope\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Evan Ferguson is Republic of Ireland&amp;apos;s beacon of hope - Sports Love Me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Evan Ferguson is Ireland&#8217;s beacon of hope and Euro 2024 qualification rests firmly on the Brighton teenager &#8211; 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