Brighton forward Evan Ferguson (£4.5m) grabbed the attention of FPL fans with an 11 point haul against Everton on Tuesday (January 3).
But who is he, why has he started playing Premier League minutes and is he worth buying in Fantasy Premier League?
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<h2>Who is Evan Ferguson? The history</h2>
Ferguson was born in the Republic of Ireland and is the son of ex-professional footballer Barry Ferguson &#8211; that&#8217;s the Barry who was on the books of Coventry City, Hartlepool and Northampton, not the former Rangers one.
He made his senior footballing debut at one of his dad&#8217;s old clubs, Bohemians, having progressed from the youth ranks.
His first game was a friendly against Chelsea in 2019. Aside from being a memorable occasion for Frank Lampard, as it was his first match in charge of the Blues, it was a momentous one for young Ferguson who aged 14 became Bohemians&#8217; <a href="https://www.meathchronicle.ie/2021/01/09/meath-teenager-heading-for-brighton/">youngest</a> first-team player.
Ferguson would go on to make four competitive appearances for the Irish club, scoring two goals.
He caught the eye of Brighton and signed for the south-coast side in January 2021. Albion reportedly beat Liverpool and Everton to his signature.
His recent Premier League appearances weren&#8217;t his first senior minutes for the Seagulls though.
An EFL Cup match against Cardiff in August 2021 was his first taste of competitive action in England, and five months later he assisted a goal when coming off the bench in the FA Cup.
<h3>Premier League debut</h3>
Graham Potter handed Ferguson his Premier League debut in February 2022. He was a substitute in Albion&#8217;s home defeat to Burnley.
The EFL Cup again provided Ferguson with another landmark moment when he scored his first Brighton goal in a 3-0 victory against Forest Green Rovers in August 2022.
His performances earned him a professional deal on his 18th birthday two months later.
Ferguson&#8217;s Premier League minutes were restricted to a single appearance in the 2022/23 season &#8211; and it wasn&#8217;t until FPL Gameweek 17 of this campaign that he played more.
Roberto De Zerbi gave him seven minutes against Southampton and he scored a goal off the bench in Gameweek 18, playing 30 minutes of the 4-2 loss to Arsenal.
Ferguson crossed paths with Lampard once again on Tuesday, however it was not a mutually celebratory one this time. His goal and assist may well have sealed the Everton boss&#8217;s fate, as the Toffees slumped to a 4-1 defeat.
<div id="attachment_51812" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-51812" class="size-full wp-image-51812" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Evan-Ferguson-Brighton.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Evan-Ferguson-Brighton.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Evan-Ferguson-Brighton-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Evan-Ferguson-Brighton-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Evan-Ferguson-Brighton-610x407.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Evan Ferguson scores against Frank Lampard&#8217;s Everton. Picture by Getty Images</div>
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<h2>Why did Evan Ferguson start for Brighton?</h2>
Brighton are not blessed with a whole host of fit and firing strikers.
Their main striker Danny Welbeck (£6.5m) has not played since the Premier League restart, after picking up a muscle injury during the World Cup break.
Deniz Undav (£5.1m) has failed to establish himself in the first team, playing just 94 league minutes this season.
And Seagulls&#8217; top scorer  Leandro Trossard (£6.8m) has been trialled up top in recent games without success, the Belgian failing to find the back of the net for five games.
A mixture of circumstances and taking his chance off the bench against the Gunners therefore seems to have afforded Ferguson with the chance to pick up his first league start.
His strong performance and lack of in-form, fit competition could see him retain his place in the team for the time being at least.
<h2>What has Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi said about Evan Ferguson?</h2>
The prospect of Ferguson starting was discussed in De Zerbi&#8217;s pre-match press conference ahead of the Everton game:
<blockquote>&#8220;He&#8217;s a very good player. He has very important qualities. I think he can play because he&#8217;s strong, he&#8217;s ready to play. Tomorrow I will decide but he gave me a good answer.&#8221;</blockquote>
And after the match, the Italian heaped praise on the teenager&#8217;s &#8216;physical&#8217; and &#8216;technical&#8217; qualities:
<blockquote>&#8220;Ferguson played a fantastic game. He has big big potential. I spoke yesterday about Ferguson and I feel he can help us in this moment and in the second part of the season because we have Welbeck and Ferguson can be very important.</blockquote>
De Zerbi said his job as a coach was to help Albion&#8217;s young players to progress, adding:
<blockquote>&#8220;He could become a great player, a great striker because he has all qualities to become a very big striker.&#8221;</blockquote>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-51810" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Evan-Ferguson-stats.jpg" alt="" width="897" height="731" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Evan-Ferguson-stats.jpg 897w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Evan-Ferguson-stats-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Evan-Ferguson-stats-768x626.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Evan-Ferguson-stats-610x497.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px" />
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<h2>Is Evan Ferguson a good FPL pick?</h2>
Although Welbeck was not ready to play against Everton, De Zerbi&#8217;s pre-match comments indicated the Englishman wasn&#8217;t too far away from making his <a href="https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/sport/football/brighton-and-hove-albion/brighton-boss-issues-danny-welbeck-and-adam-webster-injury-update-ahead-of-arsenal-3970118">return</a>.
But the Brighton boss&#8217;s warm words for Ferguson indicates more minutes can be anticipated, although whether he can tie down a regular starting spot remains to be seen.
Welbeck has yet to score in the league this season, so bar his experience, his case for walking straight back into the starting 11 is hardly compelling.
Even if Ferguson isn&#8217;t nailed, his situation would be no different to other options in his price range, such as Leeds&#8217; Sam Greenwood (£4.2m).
As such, Ferguson could play a role in FPL sides as a third striker, particularly if we get news of a Brighton double gameweek &#8211; keep an eye on fixtures expert <a href="https://twitter.com/BenCrellin">Ben Crellin&#8217;s</a> Twitter page and our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-blank-double-gameweek-guide">double gameweek guide</a> for updates.
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<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-51813" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Welbeck-stats-GW19.jpg" alt="" width="897" height="731" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Welbeck-stats-GW19.jpg 897w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Welbeck-stats-GW19-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Welbeck-stats-GW19-768x626.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Welbeck-stats-GW19-610x497.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px" />
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