Manchester City are amongst a host of elite clubs that are interested in signing Brighton & Hove Albion’s Irish wonderkid Evan Ferguson.
The 18-year-old sensation is the latest prospect at Brighton to be touted to a move in the near future and according to a source for The i.
The Sky Blues would like to sign the 6 foot 2 striker to partner Erling Haaland.
Ferguson has been quoted to be potentially worth a staggering £150m which would make the Seagulls’ talisman the most expensive player in Premier League history.
Will Brighton sell?
Brighton has been known to be a selling club recently, with the Seagulls making £346m from player sales over the past three seasons.
It’s unlikely that the east Sussex outfit can keep the sales coming otherwise it may limit them from obtaining regular European football.
Brighton chief executive Paul Barbe has claimed that interested clubs must wait five years before the Albion would listen to any offers for the Irishman.
Speaking on talkSPORT show The Sports Breakfast last month, Barbe said:
"In Evan’s case, it’ll be in at least five years’ time, [until he’s sold]
“Ultimately it’s going to be a collective decision but it’s driven by the technical staff and we’re relying on them to make those judgements regarding the players’ development.
“For those decisions, [Tony Bloom] and I leave them to the technical staff and we only really get involved when we get to the financial decisions and where we go next.”
Why do Man City need Ferguson?
For most managers having a striker that bagged 36 goals in his debut season in the Premier League would be enough, however, Pep Guardiola has always liked to build a team with plenty of squad depth that can overcome future obstacles.
With director of football Txiki Begiristain at the forefront of transfers, the Cityzens have always recruited with the future in mind.
Haaland reportedly has a release clause of £173m which isn't a bad deal considering you're getting a 6ft4 23-year-old striker that already has 239 goal contributions to his name. Real Madrid is the most likely team to pry away the Norwegian, especially with Florentino Pérez loving a Galáctico-type singing.
Ferguson would be able to offer over 10 years of service to Man City with the Irish sensation being just 18 years old.
Man City's attacking options Name Position Age Value as per Transfermarkt Erling Haaland ST 23 £153m Julián Álvarez ST 23 £51m Jérémy Doku RW 21 £24m Jack Grealish LW/AM 27 £64m Phil Foden LW/AM/CM 23 £94m Kevin De Bruyne AM/CM 32 £60m Bernardo Silva AM/CM/RW 29 £68m
The Brighton talisman – who was recently dubbed a "world-class prospect" by journalist Dan Cook (@HLTCO) – has started the 2023/24 Premier League campaign with a bang scoring four goals in his first four games in England’s top flight.
The £20k-per-week prospect bagged a hattrick in his side’s 3-1 win over Newcastle United last week. Last season, meanwhile, the £25m-rated striker averaged 1.6 shots on target per 90.
In comparison to the reigning European champions, only Haaland (1.9) averaged more shots on target per 90 than Ferguson in the entire Man City squad.
If Ferguson is to be the £375k-per-week titan's successor, he will need to know how to hit the target consistently.
The Premier League’s current top goalscorer averaged four shots per 90 last season which smashes Ferguson’s 3.4, however, that is to be expected when you're playing in a Guardiola side that has Foden, Silva and De Bruyne creating chances for you.
