Ireland and Brighton & Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson has described 2023 as "a bit of a mad year" for him personally.
The Meath native has become one of the most recognised faces in English football and has continued his hot streak from 2022 to 2023.
The 19-year-old scored 12 Premier League goals during the calendar year, including a hat-trick against Newcastle in September, as well as netting three times for Ireland in that time period.
Ferguson's form has resulted in a number of links to bigger clubs, but the good news for Brighton is that he has signed a new contract extension and will be there for a long period of time, unless a team comes in with a huge sum of money.
Ferguson won the RTÉ Sport Young Sportsperson of the Year this month and said, "It's been a bit of a mad year, a very quick year, but I'm delighted with it," he said
"Against Luton (the opening game of the season), you just want to start off well; try to get your first goal as soon as possible. As a kid, you want to try and score in the Premier League, and once you do that, then it's on to the next target. It [the Newcastle game] was a crazy game. I scored one in the first half, and then you go out and score two in the next half an hour."
Life in England can be quite lonely as a youngster and teenager, but Ferguson is now playing alongside a number of young players from Ireland. Andrew Moran, Mark O'Mahony, and Jamie Mullins are all part of Brighton's footballing system. This has helped Ferguson settle quicker than the anger at Brighton.
Republic of Ireland striker Evan Ferguson is the RTÉ Sport Young Sportsperson of the Year for 2023 #RTESportAwards
📱 Updates - https://t.co/GnQ7PRiDLE
📺 Watch live - https://t.co/obhFfMZMtu pic.twitter.com/azjFiptnou— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) December 16, 2023
"When I came over, there were three or four Irish here, and since then, three or four more have come into the place. I've played with some of them before; I've played with Jamie since I was a young kid. Having a few of the Irish boys around has helped me settle in. You don't really miss home because they were your friends from home,"he added.
"Also, the feeling that the club gave me when I came over. There's a wall that shows all the players that have come through the academy to play on the first team. They are not lying to you to try to get you in. There's a pathway here, so that gives you a chance to break through earlier."
Ferguson has also become an Ireland regular, scoring three times for his country. The Ireland star also spoke about the moment when he started his first Ireland game on March 22, 2023, against Latvia at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in a friendly. He scored Ireland's second goal of the game in 17 minutes. Ferguson also opened up about that milestone moment.
"For my debut, you just want to get out there; you're in the hotel all day. Then you're standing there for the national anthem, and the crowd is going mad.
"Growing up, you were in the crowd, and now you're the one that they are cheering for. Against Latvia, I didn't know if the ball had gone out; luckily, Mike (Michael Obafemi) kept it in, and the ball went over the line. You have to put yourself in the right position; once you're there, you'll have no excuse."
Brighton and Ferguson play West Ham on Tuesday.
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