Evan Ferguson F Brighton b.2004

[pineapple stu]

Suggestions of a €45m fee, which would be fairly outrageous for an underperforming youngster.

Yeah, huge pressure for a guy who has three goals in the last 20 months if that's the price. He could thrive in it, but he won't get much patience from the fans if he gets off to a slow start you'd imagine

[Exgrad]

There is no way Roma are paying 45m for Evan Ferguson. Inter have just signed Bonny from Parma for 24m, Ferguson fee, if he goes, will be somewhere around that.

[tetsujin1979]

Maybe not, but Brighton have a history of holding out until they get a price they consider acceptable, and Ferguson is contracted to them until 2029, so they're under no pressure to sell

[Exgrad]

Its hard to hold out on a player everyone knows you want to move on, its over a year since he's been an important part of their squad.

[Eirambler]

Maybe not, but Brighton have a history of holding out until they get a price they consider acceptable, and Ferguson is contracted to them until 2029, so they're under no pressure to sell

Given that it sounds like they have been offering him to everyone and anyone I'm not sure that's true in this case. They seem to have made their decision to move him on so their hand isn't as strong as usual here.

[Razors left peg]

I wonder if zefi been there is an influence

Apparently Zefi played for Sligo tonight

[pineapple stu]

Ferguson to Sligo!

(Zefi scored too, FWIW)

[Eirambler]

Zefi finally finding his level then. I think there was a brief moment about four or five years ago where Ferguson and Zefi were seen as the two biggest emerging prospects in Irish football. Zefi was being wildly overrated at the time based on Ireland underage performances.

[Eirambler]

Also a bit concerning that Brighton are reported to be trying to insist on an obligation to buy rather than an option to buy in the Roma deal. They really do seem to want to get rid of him completely, which would again suggest they might know things about him in terms of long term injury effects etc. that others at this stage don't know about.

[Jolly Red Giant]

My read is that this is initially a loan deal with an option to buy - the €45m is the option to buy price. The £28m (€35m) figure was based on an obligation to buy. The problem here is that Ferguson has a contract with Brighton up to 2029 - he will at least want that contract honoured (and rightly so) - effectively Brighton will have to buy him out to some degree. Ferguson hasn't demanded a transfer and has no obligation to agree to an 'obligation to buy' clause in the deal unless he is guaranteed his current contract at a minimum. It appears Roma have agreed to cover his full wages for next season - but I suspect that they may want to re-negotiate Ferguson's contract downwards (and include some injury clause etc) if there is an obligation to buy - Ferguson doesn't have to agree to any of this (nor should he). Brighton are pitching the 'option to buy' higher to try and force Roma's hand. While I think this would potentially be a good move for Ferguson, he does hold the high ground in negotiations because he has a contract until 2029 with Brighton.

[liamoo11]

Apparently Zefi played for Sligo tonight

Must be difficult for him to see ferguson going there for big money. Hopefully zefi can get a chance somewhere. Don't think he has the physical gifts to be a winger or wingback. Maybe makes it as a 10

[Razors left peg]

Must be difficult for him to see ferguson going there for big money. Hopefully zefi can get a chance somewhere. Don't think he has the physical gifts to be a winger or wingback. Maybe makes it as a 10

Tbh I dont think hes done anything in the game yet to feel jealous of other lads. Zefi has a long way to go to prove he'll even be a pro. He has talent, but I just remember seeing him with a pretty poor attitude for the u19s a couple years ago. Hes the type of lad that could light up the LOI or be working behind a bar in 3 years. Fingers crossed he gets 1st team football whether at Sligo or elsewhere and he is brilliant

[liamoo11]

Tbh I dont think hes done anything in the game yet to feel jealous of other lads. Zefi has a long way to go to prove he'll even be a pro. He has talent, but I just remember seeing him with a pretty poor attitude for the u19s a couple years ago. Hes the type of lad that could light up the LOI or be working behind a bar in 3 years. Fingers crossed he gets 1st team football whether at Sligo or elsewhere and he is brilliant

I agree but still difficult on a human level for a lad of 20. He did what loads on here say irishnplayers should do move to European league and it hasn't worked out. He seems ti be same height He was at 15 so that physical development and athletic genetics just aren't there, so he needs to be an exceptional footballer to make it

[Eirambler]

The rumours have been that Zefi hasn't helped himself in his career to this point. Talent alone isn't enough, especially for a player that's not a natural physical athlete. Hopefully he can find his level somewhere, I wouldn't be surprised if that's here in Ireland though, either now or in a couple of years time.

There's an argument that he should go with Albania too, he'd be more likely to get an Under 21 international career with them than us, and any small chance of a senior career is more likely to be with them also.

[elatedscum]

The rumours have been that Zefi hasn't helped himself in his career to this point. Talent alone isn't enough, especially for a player that's not a natural physical athlete.

as an u16, u17 - he was outrageously talented, but still played like he was a child playing kids football. it was an issue but his talent was so immense, you were willing to gamble that if he made that mentality adjustment, he'd be a star. We haven't had an irish player like that in a long time but there are international examples who went on to be stars and other guys who never worked it out and went on to be flops. I honestly think that the choices that he made or were made for him, in terms of going to Italy were totally wrong. To a certain extent, he was venturing into the dark - but if you look at Melia and Noonan now, there's a viable path for kids to stay till 18 and improve till then. Meanwhile we haven't really had any kids who went to Italy or France develop in unexpected ways or become better players than we expected. If he had signed for Liverpool and looking how they developed Ben Doak and Harvey Elliott and Bobby Clark, I'd see a path where they could help him mature...

There's an argument that he should go with Albania too, he'd be more likely to get an Under 21 international career with them than us

i really don't buy that, 2004-05 has very few good wingers. You've got Vata, Umeh, Zefi, Sean Moore and Ben Quinn - that's it in terms of natural wingers. Absolutely barren compared to the previous three squads at least. I'd have Quinn behind Zefi right now, Vata might end up with the seniors sooner rather than later and Sean Moore might end up at full-back, he's certainly played there a lot for West Ham

[liamoo11]

The rumours have been that Zefi hasn't helped himself in his career to this point. Talent alone isn't enough, especially for a player that's not a natural physical athlete. Hopefully he can find his level somewhere, I wouldn't be surprised if that's here in Ireland though, either now or in a couple of years time.

There's an argument that he should go with Albania too, he'd be more likely to get an Under 21 international career with them than us, and any small chance of a senior career is more likely to be with them also.

Same rumours as ferguson

[Razors left peg]

Same rumours as ferguson

Ferguson actually made it to men's football though

[Eirambler]

as an u16, u17 - he was outrageously talented, but still played like he was a child playing kids football. it was an issue but his talent was so immense, you were willing to gamble that if he made that mentality adjustment, he'd be a star. We haven't had an irish player like that in a long time but there are international examples who went on to be stars and other guys who never worked it out and went on to be flops. I honestly think that the choices that he made or were made for him, in terms of going to Italy were totally wrong. To a certain extent, he was venturing into the dark - but if you look at Melia and Noonan now, there's a viable path for kids to stay till 18 and improve till then. Meanwhile we haven't really had any kids who went to Italy or France develop in unexpected ways or become better players than we expected. If he had signed for Liverpool and looking how they developed Ben Doak and Harvey Elliott and Bobby Clark, I'd see a path where they could help him mature...

I'd agree that Italy wasn't the right move, but even if he had been able to go to Liverpool, he'd have been more likely to end up like Glen McAuley than Ben Doak I reckon. I'm no fan of Crawford and he probably shouldn't have said it publicly, but the thing about Zefi turning up unfit for the Under 21s is another red flag for me.

I think it's too early to say whether Melia and Noonan are better off staying than going, previous evidence would suggest they'll have 18 months of catching up to do when they do go. But they're more physically developed than Zefi anyway, so probably not the best players to compare him with.

Personally I'd get the likes of Zefi and Andy Moran and stick them in the gym until they're actually physically strong enough to play men's football. That probably comes across as a bit archaic but the truth is that without that physical strength their senior football prospects at a high level are close to zero.

[Jolly Red Giant]

I'd agree that Italy wasn't the right move, but even if he had been able to go to Liverpool, he'd have been more likely to end up like Glen McAuley than Ben Doak I reckon. I'm no fan of Crawford and he probably shouldn't have said it publicly, but the thing about Zefi turning up unfit for the Under 21s is another red flag for me.

I think it's too early to say whether Melia and Noonan are better off staying than going, previous evidence would suggest they'll have 18 months of catching up to do when they do go. But they're more physically developed than Zefi anyway, so probably not the best players to compare him with.

Personally I'd get the likes of Zefi and Andy Moran and stick them in the gym until they're actually physically strong enough to play men's football. That probably comes across as a bit archaic but the truth is that without that physical strength their senior football prospects at a high level are close to zero.

I have long been an advocate of players staying in Ireland as long as possible - I think the later they go abroad the more mature they are and the better the chances of success. I know it would be a skewed sample - but it would be interesting to see what percentage of players ended up playing professional football by going to Britain before they were 18 and after. In the long run I think the over 18 rule after Brexit will benefit Irish football in the long run- both the domestic game and internationally.

What is needed though is a massive investment in the academy structure in Ireland with full-time qualified coaches. The often used comparison that Ireland has something like ten academies while Croatia (a smaller country than Ireland) have 190.

Maturity counts for an awful lot when it comes to handling the meat grinder that is the underage system in Britain (and globally). In a small country without the massive amounts of tv money that dictate global football you can help young talented footballers in a much more rounded way with a comprehensive academy system.

[Joxerbrowne]

Staying in Ireland until 18 is definitely the way forward imo. I know of 2 lads that signed 4 year contracts in England at 16 and left after a year because of homesickness and immaturity and that's from the horses mouth.