{"id":289401,"date":"2023-09-11T00:04:19","date_gmt":"2023-09-11T00:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=289401"},"modified":"2023-09-11T00:04:19","modified_gmt":"2023-09-11T00:04:19","slug":"england-make-evan-ferguson-plea-as-southgate-outlines-plan-for-brighton-starlet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/england-make-evan-ferguson-plea-as-southgate-outlines-plan-for-brighton-starlet\/","title":{"rendered":"England make Evan Ferguson plea as Southgate outlines plan for Brighton starlet"},"content":{"rendered":"
England manager Gareth Southgate has hailed the talents of Evan Ferguson and indicated he would be interested in trying to convince him to switch international allegiance from the Republic of Ireland. Ferguson has emerged as one of the brightest talents in the English game after breaking into Brighton’s first team last season, and he has caught the eye of Southgate with a string of impressive performances.<\/p>\n
The 18-year-old has already scored four goals in the Premier League this season including a hat-trick in the 3-1 win over Newcastle, becoming the fourth-youngest player to score a treble in the top flight.<\/p>\n
Comparisons have been made to Alan Shearer, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane, while Manchester City reportedly keeping a close eye on his progress at the Amex Stadium. Brighton value the towering striker at around \u00a3150million after speculation linked him with Tottenham earlier in the summer.<\/p>\n
Ferguson is already a fully-fledged Republic of Ireland international, though, and Southgate isn’t hopeful of luring him to join their ranks after being met with some reluctance from the youngster.<\/p>\n
READ MORE <\/strong> Ferguson has already addressed England switch as he pulls out of Ireland squad[NEWS] <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI think Ferguson\u2019s played too many games at senior level, I think he\u2019s got eight caps now,” the England boss told reporters.<\/p>\n “I\u2019m not exactly sure on whether he definitely can\u2019t, but I think he\u2019s made it very clear he feels he was born in Ireland. I think he\u2019s a bloody good player. We have to respect him, I don’t think he\u2019s given any inkling that would be any different.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the same time, we were looking at Haaland and wishing that he might have been available as well. But we\u2019ve got a pretty good number nine and we\u2019re very happy with him!\u201d<\/p>\n Several Premier League stars have made the switch from Ireland to represent England at senior international level in recent years, with Jack Grealish and Declan Rice the most high-profile examples. The pair both played for Ireland in youth categories but opted to switch to the country of their birth.<\/p>\n We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n DON’T MISS <\/strong> <\/p>\n Newcastle midfielder Elliott Anderson, another youngster who caught the eye in the game on the South Coast, could be swayed after pulling out of the Scotland squad earlier this week. And Southgate confirmed he is on their radar, hinting they would be interested in luring him to the Three Lions camp.<\/p>\n \u201cWe like Anderson, we do like him. We think he\u2019s a player that\u2019s doing really well,” Southgate added. “Obviously, he was called into their squad earlier in the week and I don\u2019t know what the position is at the moment.<\/p>\n “I saw he\u2019s pulled out [of the squad]. Let\u2019s see, that\u2019s something that our organisation will be picking up. He\u2019s definitely a player we like.\u201d<\/p>\n
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