Why 2024/25 could be a make-or-break season for Evan Ferguson

It might be crazy to think it, but the 2024/25 season could just be a make-or-break campaign for the Republic of Ireland’s Evan Ferguson.

The Bettystown native doesn’t turn twenty until October, but already, there is pressure on the young striker to deliver this season after a hit-and-miss 2023/24 season that ended prematurely with an ankle injury. He is apparently still feeling the effects of that injury and so missed out on a place in the Brighton squad for last weekend’s Premier League opener against Everton.

Last season’s problems for Ferguson were in stark contrast to his breakthrough season in 2022/23 when he burst onto the scene, marking him down as one of European football’s hottest striking prospects. He scored his first Premier League goal off the bench against Arsenal, becoming both Brighton’s and Ireland’s youngest ever EPL goal scorer in the process. He finished that season with a very impressive ten goals in twenty-five appearances, winning Brighton’s Young Player of the Year award along the way.

His second season in 2023/24 also started off in impressive fashion. He was playing European football, and even though he faced extra competition for his place with the club-record arrival of Brazilian player Joao Pedro from Watford, transfer rumours about a big-money move to one of England’s top four clubs continued into the early months of the season. A hat-trick against Newcastle in September saw him earn comparisons to Harry Kane and Alan Shearer as excitement about the young Meath man really ramped up.

There were also embarrassing rumours and speculation about what country Ferguson was going to play for internationally, (the nineteen-year-old also qualified to play for England through his mother). These rumours were quickly and decisively shot down by the player himself however, and he has since earned twelve caps for the Irish national team.

With his hattrick he became just the fourth player in England’s topflight to achieve the feat by eighteen years of age, joining Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and Chris Bart-Williams on the list. He also joined an even more exclusive list by joining Cesc Fabregas as just the second non-English player to have ten Premier League goal involvements at the age of eighteen or under.

He scored again against Nottingham Forest to bring his League tally to six goals by the end of November, but it was after this that his problems appeared to begin. He would not score again for the rest of the season, meaning he would go over six months without finding the back of the net.

His relationship with then Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi, from the outside anyway, appeared to change in the second half of the season also. The Italian, who had been so enthusiastic in his praise for his young striker in the early days of his reign, was now repeatedly telling everyone Ferguson’s faults and how much the Irish international had to improve to become a regular member of his team.

Ferguson, for much of the rest of the season, would find himself in and out of the first team as niggling injuries disrupted his campaign, while De Zerbi preferred using Joao Pedro and the veteran Danny Welbeck as his preferred centre forwards.

With De Zerbi gone, having left the club at the end of last season, Ferguson will be optimistic about impressing new Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler when he returns from injury. The new manager has also been quite complimentary of Ferguson and his importance to the football club when asked about him, and getting back on the pitch for Brighton and his new manager must be at the top of Ferguson’s aims for the new season.

Therefore, the further transfer speculation and news that has emerged in the last week or so might not be the most welcome thing for the former Bohemians man at this stage of the season. Ferguson has once again found himself linked to long-term admirers Manchester United, while Brighton has just signed forward Georginio Rutter from Leeds for £40 million.

Ferguson’s potential is clear for everyone to see, which is why the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal are constantly mentioned as possible destinations for him. The struggles of last season will, hopefully in the future, be looked upon as a momentary blip in an otherwise stellar career, caused by the onslaught of niggling injury concerns that couldn’t be shaken off and the tumultuous nature of working under Roberto de Zerbi, who for much of last season appeared to be looking for the exit door at the Amex.

The most important thing for Ferguson during this campaign is to try and get fully fit under his new manager and stay fit for most of the season so that he can rediscover the kind of form that has made him an instant star for fans of Brighton and the Republic of Ireland.

Let’s hope 2024/25 is the season Evan Ferguson re-emerges as one of Europe’s most exciting young players and starts scoring on a regular basis for club and country once more. We all know he is more than capable of doing so.

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✒️ Liam Lacey – Football and GAA Betting Expert

Liam Lacey is a sportswriter from County Laois in Ireland who specializes in delivering content on GAA, horse races, and football matters (though he does see himself as somewhat of a tennis aficionado also). Liam has written about All Ireland Gaelic Football and Hurling Championships, Premier League, Champions League and international football, offering expert opinions and match previews and predictions. Occasionally, even getting some right!