Ferguson has the tools to succeed Keane as Ireland's next goal hero

 

Another weekend goes by and Evan Ferguson again has people talking.  

 

The Brighton striker has been a hot topic in recent months and has already been lined up with a high profile summer move after impressing since becoming a regular feature in Roberto De Zerbi’s side. 

 

But as we enter into the first international break of 2023, it is worth looking at the role Ferguson could play for his national side, and how important he could be to Ireland in the years to come. 

 

The former Bohemians forward has been called up to Ireland’s latest squad for their friendly against Latvia and a qualifier against World Cup runners-up, France. He is only 18, but has already appeared twice for his national side at senior level, and will be hoping to register more minutes in the coming days. 

 

Since the retirement of legendary striker, Robbie Keane, Ireland have struggled to replace their record caps holder (146) and top goalscorer (68), and haven’t qualified for a major tournament since Euro 2016. 

 

Keane’s final game for Ireland came in a 4-0 win over Oman in August 2016. Since then, Ireland have played 64 games in total, including qualifiers and friendlies, scoring 68 goals in that time, which averages out to 1.06 goals per game. This might not seem so bad, but Ireland have failed to score in 24 of those 64 matches. Additionally, only once across those 64 matches has there been a hat-trick scored, which came in October 2021 courtesy of Callum Robinson in a 4-0 friendly win over Qatar. 

 

For anyone, replacing such a legendary player like Keane will be a tough ask, especially a player of his quality. In fairness, Ireland have boasted some talent on the forward line since 2016, including Chiedozie Ogbene, who has registered 10 goal contributions in the Championship this season for Rotherham, and Michael Obafemi, who in only 99 minutes of Championship action for Burnley, has scored twice and assisted another. 

 

But there is a sense in the short time he has featured in the Seagulls XI that Ferguson has every chance to become one of Europe’s top strikers. 

 

 

In just 893 minutes of competitive action this season for De Zerbi’s side, Ferguson has registered seven goals and three assists, which works out to a goal contribution every 89.3 minutes, a steady return for a player at such a young age, and who has only started 10 of his 16 appearances. 

 

Of those to register 15+ shots in the Premier League this season, he ranks in the top 30 for shot conversion (17.6%), and he ranks 10th for shot accuracy (52.9%). Though he may have only made the 10 appearances in the league so far, these are very good indicators of the clinical nature of his style of play. 

 

In terms of his presence in the attacking third, he has registered 20 touches in the opposition box, averaging out to two per game, which may not rank so highly in the league, but does help to highlight that he isn’t simply a player who remains in the attacking third, but rather will drop deep to collect the ball, similar to Harry Kane. The Tottenham striker for example has only registered 144 touches in the opposition box, which is one less than Gabriel Jesus (145), despite the Brazilian appearing in 12 fewer games in the Premier League. Simply put, when Ferguson gets the chance to shoot, he will take it straight away in most scenarios. 

 

In his latest cameo, he scored twice as Brighton booked their place in the FA Cup semi-finals for only the third time in their history, and as a player who started every game in the competition so far, he has played a big part in firing the Seagulls to Wembley. In Sunday's win over Grimsby, his first goal came when he calmly controlled a chipped ball, turned and scored, while the second he was put through by Deniz Undav, taking the ball into the box and finishing neatly into the bottom left corner. Despite standing at 6ft 2in, these goals underline a player who is technically sound with the ball at their feet, with a 50% dribble success rate in the Premier League this season backing that up.  

 

But he isn’t afraid to use his physical presence to give himself an advantage. His goal against Arsenal for example caused William Saliba to commit an error that led to his goal, the only error leading to a goal Saliba has committed while playing for Arsenal, and only one of three that he has committed on WhoScored records. 

 

Even his goal types show how much of a threat he is in most attacking situations. His goal in the Carabao Cup came from his left foot and in the Premier League two of his goals were from his right foot, and the other a header. 

 

The all-round nature to his play is summarised by his calculated strengths, which includes through balls, as well as his defensive contribution and his hold up play. His passing in particular is of note. An 81.9% pass success rate is a solid return for a striker, with passing also considered a calculated strength. 

 

Ferguson is of course only 18, so has plenty of time to develop as a player and in this moment is probably at the perfect club in Brighton to garner regular minutes and become technically sound under the guidance of one of the best tacticians in the leagu in De Zerbi.  

 

But for Ireland, Ferguson represents a player who can lead the line for years to come and be the focal point of a new generation coming through, marking his mark in the next chapter in their history as a result.

Ferguson has the tools to succeed Keane as Ireland's next goal hero