Evan Ferguson, a rising star from the Republic of Ireland, was praised by Virgil van Dijk despite the fact that the 18-year-old turned down the opportunity to sign with Liverpool in 2021.
Ferguson scored three goals when Brighton & Hove Albion defeated Newcastle United last Saturday, but he was forced to leave the game with a knee injury and will not play in the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against France and the Netherlands.
As a result, the teenage striker, who has scored 16 goals in the Premier League since making his league debut against Southampton last December, was not put in Van Dijk’s path as he captained the Oranje to a 2-1 victory on Sunday night at the Aviva Stadium.
Van Dijk will play in Sunday’s match as his final international match of the month before returning to Merseyside, and speaking to the media ahead of the match, the Liverpool captain said the following about Ferguson’s skills: “If you score a hat-trick just before the international break, then he was going to be full of confidence.
 For Ireland, he appears to be a bright striker both now and in the future. That is a significant setback for them, but we must be prepared to battle whoever shows up to play tomorrow.
Ferguson’s situation might have allowed him to meet Van Dijk at the AXA Training Center this week after returning from international duty if things had gone differently. Due to his belief in the Amex’s first-team football pathway, the Republic of Ireland prospect ultimately chose to sign with the Seagulls in January 2021 after conducting trials at both Manchester United and Liverpool in 2020.
Ferguson explained why he turned down the Reds’ interest in May when he said: “It came down to the fact that if you come to Brighton it’s a pathway through. A striker may be purchased by a side like Liverpool for between £60 million and £70 million.
“Brighton likes to promote and give chances to players from their academy. Looking at the long term rather than the immediate term, I’d think, was the cause. So I would claim that this was the last justification.
