Evan Ferguson is one of two Ireland internationals included in the "Future Champions" list by the CIES Football Observatory. The report features 270 players born in 2003 or later who have amassed significant playing experience in the past year until December 11, 2023.
This report identifies and ranks football players born in 2003 or later based on their accumulated playing experience from December 11, 2022, to December 11, 2023. The analysis covers nine positions: goalkeepers, centre backs, left backs, right backs, holding midfielders, attacking midfielders, left wingers, right wingers, and centre forwards.
The experience score, expressed on a scale of 100, considers factors such as total game minutes in official competitions at the club and national team levels (senior, U23, and U21), the competitive level of the top 25 matches played, and the percentage of minutes played as first-choice players (up to a maximum of 2,250 minutes).
Evan Ferguson is one of two Irish players on worldwide list ranking top young prospectsPhoto by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)The report features a total of 270 players from 49 leagues worldwide, highlighting the top 30 in each of the specified positions. The Spanish Liga leads with 17 players, closely followed by the Belgian Pro League, Dutch Eredivisie, and MLS, each contributing 16 players to the rankings.
Ferguson, who plays for Brighton & Hove in the English Premier League, recorded an impressive experience score of 88.4. Over the last year, he has accumulated a total of 2,831 minutes on the pitch.
Among notable players, Rasmus Höjlund, who represents Manchester United in the English Premier League, boasts an experience score of 88.9. Throughout the last year, he commanded a total playing time of 3,298 minutes.
Anselmo García MacNulty, the second Irish player on the list, currently plays for PEC Zwolle in the Dutch top-flight. The Ireland Under-21 international recorded a solid experience score of 64.6. Over the past year, he amassed a total of 3,240 minutes, with an impressive 97% of those minutes played.
For more detailed statistics and information, check out this data.
