John O’Shea knows what a top centre-forward looks like. During his 13-year spell at Manchester United, the former Republic of Ireland international shared a dressing room with Wayne Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Louis Saha and more.
So he is well placed to discuss the talents of one of Europe’s up-and-coming striker talents. A teenager who equalled a record set by Old Trafford legend Wayne Rooney, and has frequently been tipped to follow in the footsteps of Manchester United’s all-time record goalscorer.
According to ESPN, Man United even came forward with a £50 million bid last summer. The 19-year-old’s current employers want at least double.
And while the Red Devils are expected to be in the market for a striker again when the window opens in a few months’ time, a 22-game goal drought in all competitions – and for club and country – makes it increasingly difficult to justify the prospect of Man United spending such a sizeable portion of their budget on bringing Evan Ferguson to the North West, regardless of how glittering his potential may be.
Manchester United like Brighton striker Evan Ferguson
Though O’Shea, who worked with Ferguson at Under-21 level for the Republic of Ireland and watched the Brighton forward miss a penalty against Belgium in his first match in interim charge of the senior side last week, is losing no sleep about the Bettystown-born superkid.
Form, as they say, is merely temporary.
“All good strikers, whether you’re young or old, you’ll have that spell in your career of a couple of months without a goal,” O’Shea, a five-time Premier League winner with Man United, tells the Irish Examiner.
“The key for me on Evan is getting supply to him and getting him to relax and enjoy his football. If selected, the key thing is getting him in the box where he’s most dangerous.”
Ferguson, last year, became the youngest player ever to score a Premier League hat-trick when he smashed a treble past Newcastle. He also equalled Rooney’s record for the most goals scored by a teenager in the calendar year in the competition.
With his 20 birthday still months away, a drop-off was always likely to come at some point. And it should be pointed out that many of Ferguson’s 22 goalless appearances have come from the bench.
Red Devils will sign a striker this summer
“He’s got a bit of everything,” O’Shea adds of a man who has been likened to Harry Kane stylistically and hit ten goals during his breakthrough season at Brighton in 2022/23. “(Ferguson is capable of) bringing others into the game, taking on defenders one-v-one and hitting the back of the net. He’s got a lot in the locker.
“If you get him closer to goal, in between the posts in the box, shall we say, he’s going to be a big danger. It’s just getting back to the little extra finishing sessions, little reminders of what you’re good at and reminders of where to be to hurt teams.
“I think that’s the key thing for me. A player, when he’s in form, he’ll be doing those things as well to keep that consistency, and get your level of performance up to where it should be.”
United will sign a striker this summer – Anthony Martial is leaving after all – but the question is, will the Red Devils prioritise a rising star like Ferguson, Joshua Zirzkee or Benjamin Sesko? Or a more experienced option such as Ivan Toney or Serhou Guirassy?
