Evan Ferguson had two options: play European football under Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen or be reunited with Graham Potter at West Ham United.
The reigning Bundesliga champions made an offer to sign the 20-year-old striker which must have been tempting but, instead, he chose to play under West Ham’s newly-appointed head coach. Ferguson has joined on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion for the rest of the season. The deal does not include an option to buy, but the Premier League club will pay his salary, a loan fee and add-ons.
It is testament to Ferguson’s relationship with Potter that he rebuffed interest from last season’s Europa League finalists. The Republic of Ireland international, who has been capped 18 times, was also linked with Arsenal and Chelsea before making the switch to the London Stadium. West Ham’s attention shifted to the forward following their failed £57million ($70.7m) offer for Jhon Duran, who has since joined Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr in a deal worth €77m (£64.3m, $79.9m).
Potter was manager of Brighton when they signed Ferguson from the League of Ireland club Bohemians in January 2021. Seven months later, he gave Ferguson his senior debut aged 16 years 10 months against Cardiff City in the League Cup. Potter has always tempered expectations surrounding the young striker. He may follow suit in the forthcoming months as he ushers the forward into the starting XI.
Potter was back at Stamford Bridge on Monday night (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
Despite the 2-1 loss away to Chelsea on Monday night, West Ham showed further improvement under Potter’s stewardship. But his attacking options have been severely depleted without the injured Michail Antonio, Niclas Fullkrug and Crysencio Summerville. Captain Jarrod Bowen did return ahead of schedule having recovered from a fractured foot, sustained against Liverpool in December, and scored the visitors’ first-half goal. Yet Lucas Paqueta, who had deputised as a false nine in Bowen’s absence, was absent this time with a groin injury.
All of which left Potter and his backroom staff, in the 70th minute, ruminating which substitutions to make after Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s own goal had seen them fall behind. Danny Ings, the veteran striker, and young midfielder Lewis Orford were introduced, but it was the clearest example yet of why Ferguson’s arrival was necessary.
“We have to assess him because he had a few weeks off,” said Potter when asked if Ferguson could have an immediate impact. “He played roughly 20 minutes at the weekend (in Brighton’s 7-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest). We have some time until the next game (against Brentford) so we will help him in training. Our challenge now is make sure he is fit, healthy and enjoying his football. He’s a talent.
Ferguson challenges England’s Lewis Hall in the Nations League in November (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
“I’m happy (with the window). The players we have out are significant for us. If we get them back, which will hopefully be soon, that makes a difference to us. To get the two characters that we did in Evan and James (Ward-Prowse, who has returned from his loan spell at Forest) will help the group.
“In terms of the performance, it was really positive. We had a good understanding of how we wanted to defend and attack. We restricted Chelsea to not many chances. We feel unlucky with the first goal — we felt there was a foul from their defender on Jarrod in the buildup. But if we had held out a little bit longer we could’ve sustained something from the game. They had to make a lot of substitutions which tells us our performance was good.
“At the end, we had a really big chance with Mo (Mohammed Kudus) to equalise. But lots of positives and you can see the reaction from our supporters at the end.”
Ferguson grew up idolising Wayne Rooney, Karim Benzema, Dimitar Berbatov and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. In the months ahead, he will hope to show similar predatory instincts as those stellar talents.
The hope is his addition signals a marked improvement in West Ham’s recruitment strategy. The club have perennially laboured when it comes to identifying the right calibre of striker. Fullkrug, the £27m summer signing from Borussia Dortmund, is a case in point.
Although this is a short-term loan, Ferguson’s youthfulness and 6ft frame are much-needed for Potter’s newly-implemented 3-4-2-1 formation. It will be a familiar set-up for the striker, who has already worked alongside coaches Billy Reid and Bruno Saltor at Brighton. Potter and his backroom staff will now aim to rekindle Ferguson’s career. Only two years ago, the Irishman was considered an outrageous talent and labelled a future £100m player. In the 2022-23 season, Ferguson became the first teenager since Rooney in 2005 to score at least 10 Premier League goals. He was rewarded with a new contract stretching until 2028.
Ferguson in action in Brighton’s defeat to Crystal Palace in December (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
But Ferguson’s career has stalled, and there has been a worrying lack of game time under Brighton’s latest manager, Fabian Hurzeler. A fresh start was needed and playing under the tutelage of Potter was a crucial factor.
The head coach likes Ferguson’s maturity. It is why, at Brighton, Potter quickly promoted the striker from the under-23s into the first-team squad. He also encouraged senior pros like Danny Welbeck to help mentor Ferguson. The former England and Manchester United striker highlighted areas of Ferguson’s game which needed improvement and ways he could exploit weaknesses in opponents, but would limit praise. At West Ham, Bowen could reprise a similar role as Ferguson settles.
“The boys know his quality and attributes,” said Potter in 2022. “I wouldn’t want to rush him into anything but, at the same time, we believe that he is going to have a really big future.”
Three years later and Ferguson is intent upon fulfilling Potter’s prophecy.
(Top photo: Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
