Brighton & Hove Albion's James Milner has praised Evan Ferguson for his desire to learn and grow as a footballer.
Ferguson (18) has become one of the hottest young properties in English football, scoring 18 goals for the club since making his debut. The Bettystown native has also become an Ireland regular and has scored three goals for his country already.
This week, Milner was asked by a reporter on TNT Sports about what the young Irish talent was like, and he spoke very highly of his Brighton teammate.
"Great lad first and foremost, said Milner to TNT Sports.
"Wants to learn, wants to learn about what is so important. He's at a great place in terms of the club and the manager he is working with, the senior players he's got to work off, and looking at someone like Welbz [Danny Welbeck] and how he goes about his business and how he plays.
"He's in a great spot, but his finishing is phenomenal—to be honest, so good. If a chance is falling, you want it to fall to him.
"We were joking about it, but West Ham didn't score, but he had a chance where he just made it out of nothing; he just knocked it over, left foot, and hit it instinctively."
Like many young footballers, their is a fear that fame and ego can go away, and for Milner, he believes that Ferguson has to keep his feet firmly on the ground and there is no place better for that then at the Amex
"His finishing is phenomenal"
"He's got a lot to learn but he has so much ability already"
Evan Ferguson has already made a great impression on PL veteran James Milner ✅
➡️ Watch in full on YouTube: https://t.co/KFA0EDf10p pic.twitter.com/SZ1wckzt4Y— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 22, 2024
"He's got a lot to learn still," the three-time Premier League winner goes on. "In so many areas, he can improve; that's normal for a young guy, but with his ability already, I've seen massive improvements in his hold-up play since the start of the season.
"Depending on what team you're playing, his finishing might be enough for one team, just being in the box, but obviously how we play—the hold-up play, the cleverness, the movement to fit into the style of play—that's important as well.
"Learning from Welbz and people like that, that's important. His attitude is fantastic, but his ability is so good. It's important that we protect him; there's hype around him, and rightly so, but he's definitely in the right place at this moment in time, and hopefully he'll keep banging them in for us."
