It is a measure of Evan Ferguson’s potential that plenty of clubs were willing to look past his recent struggles once it became clear that Brighton were listening to offers for the striker during the winter transfer window.
Arsenal were monitoring the situation, Chelsea made firm inquiries and there was a point when Bayer Leverkusen looked set to sign the 20-year-old on loan. It was only when Al-Nassr walked away from a deal for Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface and bought Jhon Durán from Aston Villa that the Bundesliga champions were forced to stand aside, paving the way for West Ham to ramp up talks with Brighton and bring Ferguson to east London for the rest of the season.
It was a move that made sense for all parties. West Ham had the solution to their injury crisis in attack, Ferguson had the chance for a fresh start and Brighton had not lost complete control of a potentially lucrative asset. There is no option or obligation to buy and there is a good chance there will be a big market for Ferguson this summer if he rediscovers his goalscoring touch. Paul Winstanley, Chelsea’s co-sporting director, was previously at Brighton and is well aware of the Irishman’s talent.
For Graham Potter, though, there is no point in worrying about whether West Ham will be able to sign Ferguson permanently. “I don’t think we should think like that,” the head coach said before his team host Brentford on Saturday afternoon. “We should think about how we can help Evan enjoy his football, bring the quality that we know he has. Let’s just focus on that. Let’s focus on having the best 14 matches we can.”
Is Ferguson ready to be thrown in from the start? Potter could tread carefully, even though Niclas Füllkrug and Michail Antonio are long-term absentees. He is conscious of Ferguson’s recent return from an ankle injury. The forward was out for six weeks before a late appearance as a substitute during Brighton’s 7-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest this month and his confidence has waned during a period in which he has gone from being talked of as a £100m player to being written off as another youngster given too much, too soon.
Expectations have to be kept realistic. Ferguson was hugely exciting when he burst on to the scene during the 2022-23 season and scored 10 goals in 25 appearances. He looked explosive and there were comparisons to Harry Kane. It all looked so natural when Ferguson scored a hat-trick against Newcastle at the start of the following campaign. His rise seemed unstoppable. There was constant noise about a big-money move. Football, though, has a funny way of dragging people down.
The conversation changed when Ferguson’s form slowed after the win over Newcastle. Close watchers of Brighton wondered whether the Republic of Ireland international, who finished last season with six goals, was suited to Roberto De Zerbi’s style of play. The former Brighton striker Warren Aspinall has argued Ferguson was set back by “the De Zerbi way of coming short for everything”. Potter will want him to be a focal point, stretch defences and make space for Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paquetá and Mohammed Kudus.
But West Ham fans must be patient with Ferguson. He has been hit by a variety of injuries, slowing his momentum, and went almost a year without scoring for club or country before Brighton’s 2-2 draw with Wolves last October.
Ferguson was no longer terrorising defences. He was behind João Pedro, Georginio Rutter and Danny Welbeck at Brighton and could not earn the trust of Fabian Hürzeler, who replaced De Zerbi last summer. Ferguson has made only two league starts under Hürzeler and his ball retention was criticised by the German after he was substituted after an hour against Newcastle in October.
The hope has to be that a reunion with a familiar face gets Ferguson back on track. There is an obvious benefit to working with someone as measured as Potter. He gave Ferguson his debut at Brighton and knows all too well how reputations can be torn to shreds after his torrid time at Chelsea.
“Sometimes with young players we jump in too quickly,” Potter said. “I think until you’ve made 50 appearances, it’s always a good number to go: ‘OK, now we can assess where things are.’ And if you’ve had some injuries it’s not easy.
“Sometimes in football if you’re hot, you’re hot and when you’re not, you’re not. We can go quickly from one extreme to another, which is silly because the player quality is still there. We had these conversations even when he was 17 at Brighton around: ‘Let’s not sign a centre-forward because we’ve got Evan coming through.’
“We had huge belief in him. But injuries can stop you and all of a sudden you haven’t played as much, you haven’t scored as much and then you’re not quite the same thing. But the quality is still there. It’s our job to get him on the pitch, help him enjoy his football.”
Potter has had belief in Ferguson since first setting eyes on him in training. “He was a big lad, a strong lad,” he said. “But it wasn’t just his physicality. It was his understanding of the game – when to drop into space, how he received the ball. The quality of the finishes was almost like there’s a calmness to him that made you think it wasn’t a 17-year-old.”
Ferguson played as if in his 20s. “He’s a calm guy, he’s level‑headed, he understands the game,” Potter said. “Really good finisher, works hard off the ball, just wants to play. A good team player. Hopefully we can help him. He needs to be on the pitch regularly. Then we’ll see the best of Evan.”
