Why Irish wonderkid rejected Man Utd and Liverpool
FT Desk
- 25 Oct 2022 18:33 BST
- 3 min read
Young Ireland striker Evan Ferguson rejected the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool before signing for Brighton from Bohemians last year.
Ferguson is the son of former League of Ireland centre-back Barry, and attracted attention beyond his homeland after making his senior professional debut for Bohemians two months before his 15th birthday.
He had his first senior goals just five months later, and the Premier League's elite were all in for him when he decided to swap Dalymount Park for Brighton for an undisclosed fee in January 2021.
A special strike from Evan Ferguson in the @PapaJohnsTrophy! 👏 pic.twitter.com/tifIrsnkGT
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) November 3, 2021
Roy Keane and Denis Irwin are just two Irishmen who swept all before them in previous years at Man Utd, but the path to first-team football at Brighton was what appealed most to Ferguson.
"I think I always knew them [Brighton]," he explained to Sussex Live. "As soon as they were in the Premier League [in 2017] you could see them, and you could see what they were trying to do. When I came over they were definitely the team I wanted to join.
"I used to come over to all the clubs with my dad. He had a clue about what was going on, so I think he was key. I have been on a trial to a few clubs but [Liverpool] was the main one. I was on trial with Manchester United, Celtic, and Everton. I think from the outside it was obvious to see that [pathway] and most of the managers here have given chances to young players.
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"It was my decision. I think it was a good club. When I came over it was different from all the other clubs. Obviously, there were some other Irish boys here, you could see a pathway for them. It just had a different feeling here, everyone was welcoming. It was good."
Ferguson has fellow youth internationals James Furlong and Andrew Moran as teammates in Premier League 2, while the senior squad has his compatriots Shane Duffy and Aaron Connolly on the books, although they are on loan with Fulham and Venezia respectively this season.
