Why Chelsea Interest Is Bad For Evan Ferguson of Brighton.
Evan Ferguson will very certainly be the subject of a big-money move away from Brighton if he continues on his current upward trajectory.
The 19-year-old Irish striker is one of the world’s most exciting young strikers, having become the fastest youngster to ten Premier League goals since a little-known Liverpudlian named Wayne Rooney.
His scoring rate has slowed this season, but no one is fooled. Evan Ferguson will be among the world’s top strikers if he keeps his word. With his enormous promise, the world’s biggest teams will undoubtedly want to sign the Bettystown native.
Why Chelsea Interest Is Bad For Evan Ferguson of Brighton.
Ferguson grew up a Manchester United supporter (jokingly suggesting it was a joy to play with Danny Welbeck for Brighton, given Welbeck’s history with United), and that is the most frequently stated potential destination for the young Irishman.
Understandably, Liverpool and Arsenal have been mentioned in relation to Ferguson – but the latest reports that Chelsea are willing to break the British transfer record to sign the ex-Bohs man should set alarm bells ringing for Ferguson and those supporting him in his early career.
Evan Ferguson should be wary of Chelsea links
Evan Ferguson made his senior debut for Bohemians at the age of 14 in a friendly against Frank Lampard’s Chelsea at Dalymount Park in 2019, and his ascent since then has been spectacular.
According to multiple reports this week, the opposition that day in Phibsboro is now preparing to break records in order to bring Ferguson to Stamford Bridge.
The Evening Standard claimed on Thursday that Chelsea were interested in signing Ferguson, while talkSPORT reported on Friday that the Blues would be willing to break the British transfer record to get him away from Brighton.
Chelsea would not be surprised to pay a high price for the kid. After all, Chelsea paid the current British record fee to Brighton last summer with the £115 million transfer of Moises Caicedo.
Caicedo’s experience at the Bridge should not inspire confidence in Evan Ferguson or Irish football supporters if a similar move is made for him.
Caicedo has struggled this season in a disorganised and misfiring Chelsea club, continuing a long list of young players who have struggled to make an impression since moving to West London.
Why Chelsea Interest Is Bad For Evan Ferguson of Brighton.
Since Todd Boehly took over at Chelsea in 2022, huge sums of money have been spent on transfers, largely for unproven young talent who has struggled in the spotlight at one of England’s most powerful clubs.
The money spent on players has not resulted in any form of real success on the pitch. Chelsea finished in the bottom half of the Premier League for the first time since 1996 last season, and they are already on their fourth manager under Boehly.
Chelsea are clearly not a stable or thriving club, and any possibility of Evan Ferguson signing on the dotted line for the Pensioners should be rejected by those in his inner circle. In addition to their poor performance on the pitch, it is evident that the environment at Chelsea has done little to support the positive development of new talent, which is exactly what Ferguson should prioritise at this stage in his career.
Chelsea’s horrific track record with strikers
When a larger sample size is used than just Chelsea’s fortunes under Todd Boehly, another troubling trend emerges. There is no nice way to put it: Chelsea’s recent striker track record is horrible.
Take the last ten years of forwards at Chelsea. The roll call is astonishing – since the 2014 transfer window, the following have passed through the doors of Stamford Bridge.
- Didier Drogba
- Diego Costa
- Romelu Lukaku (twice)
- Fernando Torres
- Demba Ba
- Radamel Falcao
- Alexandre Pato (you definitely forgot he played for Chelsea, didn’t you?)
- Loic Remy
- Michy Batshuayi
- Alvaro Morata
- Olivier Giroud
- Gonzalo Higuain
- Timo Werner
- Kai Havertz
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
- Joao Felix
Can one say with confidence that any bar Drogba, Costa, and Giroud were successes at the club? If anything, the vast majority were abject failures.
Something is amiss at Chelsea, and during the last decade, moving to the club has proved a death sentence for numerous strikers far more experienced and highly ranked than Evan Ferguson.
This is before you consider the huge strain that would be placed on the Meathman’s young shoulders if he was signed for a record amount this early in his career. Ferguson has shown unfazed by the hurdles thrown his way thus far, and he appears to have the elite mentality required to thrive at the highest level – but do we really want to see his mettle tested by the weight of a British record fee at a broken club like Chelsea?
One hopes that individuals close to Ferguson are aware of all of this, and that the links to Chelsea are ultimately a waste of time.
So much of Ireland’s future success in the next decade and beyond will be dependent on Ferguson developing into the player he appears destined to become – and Chelsea is not the venue for that development to take place.
Fortunately, Ferguson appears to be committed to Brighton in the short to medium term, and the Seagulls have built an excellent atmosphere for young players to flourish in recent years.
For Ireland and for Evan Ferguson, one simply has to hope that the pitfalls of a potential big-money move to a club like Chelsea will undo so much of that good work.
