Head coach Roberto De Zerbi still regards Evan Ferguson as “the future of Brighton”, despite a difficult season for the 19-year-old striker ending early through injury.
Ferguson has been playing in pain with a left ankle issue which has curtailed his campaign with six games left, starting with tonight’s visit by Manchester City.
“He felt pain in the ankle a lot of times,” De Zerbi said. “He tried to move on and play with pain, but in the end he preferred to stop and think about next season.”
Ferguson enjoyed a breakthrough last season, scoring 10 goals in 25 appearances for Brighton and twice in six games at international level for the Republic of Ireland.
He started the current campaign in similar vein with four goals in four outings in the Premier League, including a hat-trick at home to Newcastle, but he has been hampered by other minor injuries and scored the last of six goals in 36 appearances overall in November.
De Zerbi said: “We have to make a difference between injuries and the way of his career.
“The injuries you can’t control. The journey in terms of progress is different.
“You have to accept that a player so young, just 19, can spend a very good moment, scoring goals, and then have a different, opposite, moment. A tough moment. Especially for a striker.
“Sometimes as a striker you can score two goals a game. Then suddenly you are not able to score even with your hand.
“But this is football, and for young players it can happen. They can play one season great and the next season not so good.”
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