Hurzeler: Ferguson can still succeed at Brighton despite Roma loan

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has said that Evan Ferguson can still be a success at Brighton despite his impending loan move to Roma. 

Ferguson is set to join the Italian side on a season-long loan, which reportedly comes with an option to buy clause set at €40m.

The 20-year-old was given a hero's welcome upon his arrival in the Italian capital ahead of his medical on Monday, with fans gathering in their droves to catch a glimpse of their new arrival. 

Ferguson has suffered a slew of injuries in recent seasons, hampering his development and affecting his game time.

But Seagulls head coach Fabian Hurzeler was clear that Ferguson remained part of his plans going forward. 

"For us, it is always important the individual players have an environment where they can develop," Hurzeler told the Argus.

"We decided the loan was the best option. He is still a player of us. He still brings us quality with him.

"He is a target player, and I am sure when he gets more game time, he will one day be back and be an important player for us."

Roma will be hoping that Ferguson's loan spell is more successful than the time he spent with West Ham in the second half of the 2024-25 campaign. 

Ferguson made just one start for Graham Potter's Hammers, failing to register a single goal. 

That form followed his disappointing start to the campaign with the Seagulls, scoring just once in 13 top-flight appearances, as he struggled with an ankle injury and fell behind Joao Pedro, Danny Welbeck and Georginio Rutter in the pecking order. 

It was a far cry from the early promise he had shown in his first two seasons with Brighton, scoring six goals in each, and providing a further two assists in 2022-23.

In fact, Ferguson is the youngest player to have scored at least 15 goals in all competitions for Premier League clubs in the last three seasons (from 2022-23), netting 17 in that period.