Evan Ferguson is delighted to match the record of his icon Wayne Rooney with the Brighton striker tipped to one day follow in the footsteps of the Premier League legend at Manchester United.
As Evan Ferguson shifted a Pascal Gross pass out of his feet and curled into the bottom corner with typical poise and composure – opening the scoring during Sunday’s 1-1 draw between Brighton and Fulham – the Irishman wrote his name into the Premier League history books.
He is now the only teenager since a certain Manchester United hero to score at least 10 top-flight goals in a calendar year.
Evan Ferguson matches Manchester United hero
“Yes, not bad, not bad,” Ferguson smiles, speaking to the Irish Examiner as he closes in on Wayne Rooney’s record tally of 11, set all the way back in 2005.
“Especially as a kid looking up to him and watching Wayne Rooney play. So (me matching his record) is not bad news.”
Ferguson, a self-professed, boyhood Manchester United fan, wasn’t even born when the Red Devils broke the bank on a baby-faced Rooney 19 years ago, though he did grow up watching Old Trafford’s all-time top scorer dominate the domestic landscape during the final few years of the Sir Alex Ferguson era.
“A little bit, yes,” the Brighton wonderkid adds when asked if Rooney was something of a ‘role model’ for him. “Obviously just seeing the way he was and seeing his documentary now (on Amazon Prime), how young he was and what he did at that age…
“It shows it’s not impossible, you know what I mean?”
United keen on Brighton striker
Ferguson is also doing his bit to prove that age is but a number. One of the most talented young forwards in European football already has five goals from just six Premier League starts this season, and netted a brilliant hat-trick against Newcastle before his 19th birthday this month.
According to the Daily Mail, Ferguson’s pinpoint finishing and his remarkable maturity both on and off the pitch has not gone unnoticed at Old Trafford, though Brighton CEO Paul Barber insists that the teenager will not be following in Rooney’s footsteps any time soon.
“In Evan’s case, it’ll be in at least five years’ time (before we consider selling),” Barber told talkSPORT (15 August, 10am) amid claims that Ferguson is viewed at Brighton as a potential £100 million footballer (Sky).
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