Evan Ferguson: 6 Premier League clubs battling for Brighton striker

Chelsea have reportedly entered the competitive race to sign Brighton & Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson in January, with Arsenal, Bournemouth, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United also looking for attacking reinforcements.

The Republic of Ireland international was held up as the English top flight’s most exciting young talent as recently as last season. Ferguson famously scored a hat-trick against Newcastle United in September 2023 to become only the fourth 18-year-old to ever bag a Premier League treble.

However, the prodigious young forward picked up an injury that very weekend and has been riddled with various fitness complaints ever since. Ferguson has scored just three league goals over the 16 months since that hat-trick, leaving him as Brighton’s fourth-choice centre-forward behind Danny Welbeck, Joao Pedro and Georginio Rutter.

Nevertheless, the desperation of the mid-season transfer window has conspired to create a competitive race for Ferguson’s signature this month. The Guardian claim that Chelsea are the latest team to register their interest in the 20-year-old, but face competition from a glut of Premier League clubs as well as reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.

It remains unclear as to whether Chelsea would be interested in loaning Ferguson for the remainder of the season or penning a permanent deal.

Arsenal have no more room in the squad for another temporary Premier League signing – there is a maximum of two allowed per team – so would have to either cancel or buy one of Raheem Sterling or Neto.

Mikel Arteta admitted that Arsenal are “actively looking” for a new forward following injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka while Ange Postecoglou has been blunt with his transfer demands to Tottenham.

Ferguson is yet to make a competitive appearance this calendar year but has returned to Brighton training this week after recovering from an ankle injury. Seagulls boss Fabian Hurzeler claimed than Ferguson’s “long term future [is] here”, but conceded: “We want to improve the players and help him. We need an exchange – we need to see what makes sense for the player and the next six months for the club – we’ll make a decision together.”