An Evan Ferguson sale would earn Brighton £150 million, according to the club's former youth team coach Mark Beard.
Ferguson's ever-growing profile exploded on Saturday evening, when he scored his first Premier League hat-trick in a 3-1 victory for the Seagulls over Newcastle United.
At just 18 years and 318 days, this made him the third-youngest player to score a hat-trick in the English top flight since its rebrand in 1992, with just Robbie Fowler, Chris Bart-Williams and Michael Owen achieving the feat at a younger age.
With his rise to prominence in 2023, it can be assumed that Europe's top clubs are monitoring Ferguson's performances, with the teenager expected to bid farewell to Brighton sooner or later.
The club has earned a reputation for helping to develop some of the world's finest talents before selling them on for huge profits, and Beard feels that in Ferguson they have a player who they can sell for £150 million.
"Evan Ferguson can do anything" according to youth coach
"Evan Ferguson is the best player I've worked with," said Beard on the Undr The Cosh podcast. "He's unbelievable. He came over at the age of 14 from Ireland, the first thing he did, someone put a cross in and he Cruyffed it in the air, into the top corner.
"I was like 'wow, this kid's special'. We signed him at the age of 16. The kid's phenomenal. He can do anything. He'll go for 150 million, guaranteed."
Irish talent at Brighton
Ireland under-21 international Andrew Moran, who is impressing on loan at Blackburn Rovers, is also name-checked by Beard on more than one occasion, and it seems that Brighton is the best place to be right now for any young Irish talent going over to England.
While Ferguson was in and out of the Roberto De Zerbi's team at the beginning of the season, you would think that his hat-trick against the Magpies will ensure a more regular starting spot for the striking sensation once the international break is over.
Before that, there's the small task of leading Ireland's line against France and the Netherlands in a Euro 2024 qualifying double-header over the next week.
