THE RESPECTED CIES Football Observatory has named Evan Ferguson as one of two Ireland players on its list of ‘future champions’.
The Swiss-based organization has compiled a list of 270 young athletes from around the world born since 2003.
All of these future stars have “gained the most playing experience in the past year” as of December 11, 2023.
The players were divided into nine positions: goalkeeper, centre-back, left-back, right-back, holding midfielder, attacking midfielder, left winger, right winger and centre-forward.
The top 30 stars were then named to each position.
Each player’s ‘experience score’ is calculated out of 100 and is based on the number of minutes played per year in league, national cup, international cup, club, senior, U-23 and U-21 national team matches. It has been constructed. level.
Other factors included in the calculation included the sporting level of the 25 most competitive games played and the “percentage of time played as a first-choice player.”
Ferguson is ranked as the second-highest center forward after Manchester United’s Rasmus Højlund.
Brighton’s ace scored 88.4 points, while Danish star Højlund scored 88.9 points.
Another Irish player was Anselmo Garcia-McNulty, a left-back from PEC Zwolle in the Dutch first division.
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The Under-21 star ranks 20th on the list of left-backs/wing-backs, topped by Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde.
Born in Seville to an Irish mother and Spanish father, McNulty started 2023 on loan from German side VfL Wolfsburg to NAC Breda.
He is currently on a permanent contract with PEC Zwolle and regularly features for Ireland Under-21s.
Other big stars on the list include Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, Barcelona’s Gabi, Man United’s Alejandro Garnacho and Man City’s Rico Luiz.
Ferguson made an excellent start to his Premier League career last year, with Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi describing him as a “son”.
De Zerbi has made it clear that he has high demands for the Meath teenager and will do everything he can to help him develop.
He said: “You would expect different types of performances from young players. There are times when they play very well and score, and other times they struggle.
“Over the past two months, Evan has been struggling with injuries and other events.
“But he can play better and Evan’s level is higher than what he’s playing at the moment.
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“But we have to help him, we have to help himself and we have to understand what kind of player he can be. He is very young, so my son’s It’s something like this.
“I want to do everything to help him, he can be a great player.”