BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION MANAGER Roberto De Zerbi has said that Evan Ferguson is a 'unique' talent but stressed that there is room for improvement for the Ireland forward.
Ferguson (18) scored the winner for Brighton in their 1-0 FA Cup win over Stoke City on Tuesday, bringing his goal tally to 5 goals in all competitions this season.
Brighton dominated the ball against the Championship side and went 1-0 within 30 minutes. Kaoru Mitoma ran on to Lewis Dunk’s excellent through-ball and laid a pass of his own to Ferguson, who tapped in.
Speaking after the game De Zerbi said, "He is unique for us in terms of quality, in terms of characteristic. He knows very well the way to score.
"I think he can, and he has to improve, in the quality of play, in ball possession, to keep the ball better.
"But he is 18 and he will improve for sure, because I know the guy, I know his passion, his attitude, and I have no doubt."
The Evan Ferguson goal again!😍😍😍 — Rep of Ireland Player Tracker (@reptracker) February 28, 2023
pic.twitter.com/AwoFZSjsjn
Ferguson was also interviewed after the game and asked about his contribution to Brighton's winner.
The Bettystown native said the goal was something that they worked on in training.
“It is something we work on in training and when it comes off like that it's a good thing to play in,” said Ferguson to ITV4.
“And to finish it off it was an easy little finish so that was nice. When he [Mitoma] gets into those areas, he can chop inside and shoot, or he can play it across. Lucky for me he played it across.”
The draw for the FA Cup sixth round will take place following the conclusion of Sheffield United v Tottenham Hotspur tonight.
De Zerbi has promised to everything they can do to win the FA Cup for Brighton this year
"I can promise nothing, but I can promise every day we work hard to make them (the supporters) happy and proud of their team, their club, only this," said the Italian.
"I understand they want to win the trophy, and we also want to win, but to win, we need to work, to improve and to believe. But for the moment we have to think only of West Ham, because we have the possibility to arrive in Europe."
Brighton's next game against West Ham on Saturday will start at 3pm,
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