Chelsea have been tipped to win the race for one of the top-flight's most exciting talents by Owen Hargreaves.
The former England midfielder has praised Brighton and Hove Albion gem Evan Ferguson after a scintillating performance against Newcastle United on Saturday, in which he scored his first senior hat-trick in a 3-1 win over their league rivals.
Ferguson has understandably made headlines after his most recent performance, with fans and pundits around the country in awe at his maturity at such a young age and has now been backed to seal a switch to Stamford Bridge in the future.
What did Hargreaves say about Ferguson?
Hargreaves appeared on 'The Kelly & Wrighty Show' alongside Arsenal legend Ian Wright to discuss the game, where they had plenty of praise for the Irishman.
On the striker's performance, he said:
“That was against the best defence in the Premier League last season. Dan Burn looked very worried about Ferguson.”
His admirations continued, saying:
“I like the fact that all three goals were different. The first one was an easy one, he was in the right spot. The second was a great goal.
“He’s a bit of an old school centre-forward, he’s got that physical profile.”
The one-time Manchester United midfielder then suggested Chelsea as a likely destination for the emerging sensation – “Probably Chelsea," he said when asked about the Irishman's future, adding: "because they buy all of Brighton’s players”.
Who is Evan Ferguson?
The 18-year-old joined the Seagulls academy in January 2021 from Irish side Bohemians, despite interest from Liverpool.
Since making his first-team debut for Brighton in August 2021, aged just 16, he has played 33 times in all competitions scoring 14 goals, 4 of which have come in the opening four games of the 2023/24 Premier League season.
After an FA Cup quarter-final brace in March, the clinical striker earned the plaudits of BBC's Danny Murphy who labelled Ferguson a “superstar”, while Gary Lineker took to Twitter to write: “I see a real centre forward before my eyes.”
Ferguson is the latest of Brighton’s incredible talents that we have seen burst onto the scene in the Premier League in recent years, joining names such as Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister.
As with the previous players, the Irishman hasn’t been spared from links to some of the biggest clubs in the league, with Sky Sports reporting (via GOAL) in August that he was Tottenham’s ‘dream’ replacement for Harry Kane.
Arsenal are also thought to be plotting a £100m move for the Seagulls star next summer, per FootballTransfers.
Meanwhile, it was no secret that Chelsea were trying to bring in another frontman before the transfer window slammed shut last weekend.
With Nicolas Jackson yet to hit the ground running – having scored just once in four starts – and Christopher Nkunku's injury troubles, Chelsea could continue their search for a centre-forward next summer and with Ferguson’s strong progress so far, it would be unsurprising to see Chelsea go after the Brighton man.
The two sides have done business on numerous occasions in recent years, with owner Todd Boehly spending big on the likes of Caicedo and Marc Cucurella to name a few, while Tariq Lamptey and Billy Gilmour have gone in the other direction.
Hargreaves was merely speculating on where Ferguson may end up in the future but given the evidence above, he could well be the latest figure to swap the south coast for west London in the near future.