Paul Fennessy

IRELAND U21S boss Jim Crawford has praised Evan Ferguson after his goal helped the Boys in Green draw 1-1 with Israel on Friday night, but also added a note of caution.

The Meath teenager has risen through the ranks at club and international level alike, making his Bohemians senior debut at 14 before joining Brighton, for whom he made his Premier League bow last season.

Ferguson’s latest landmark came last week when he scored his first goal for Ireland at U21s level as they were held by a stubborn Israeli outfit in the playoff first leg.

Asked how good the player can become, Crawford replied: “You have to be careful at times when you speak about him, he’s only 17. I don’t know if it was some sort of record of the youngest ever player scoring for the 21s. He played when he was 16.

“He has unbelievable potential, he really has. He’s still young. He has a long way to go in terms of reaching his ceiling. But he’s been excellent since the first day he’s come in. He’s got a fantastic physical presence, a really good first touch, he can score goals as he showed the other night.

“We’ve seen him close hand in our training sessions and he’s a special talent, it’s high potential at this point in time. I do know the club [Brighton] have a development plan for him, which is encouraging. And again, he’s come from a really good family, so I can’t see him straying too far from that development plan, that’s for sure.”

Despite last week’s impactful performance, Ferguson is not a certain starter in Tuesday’s playoff second leg having picked up an injury.

Asked if anyone of his players were doubtful for the match, Crawford said: “We just have Evan Ferguson who has a slight knock and that’s about it. He didn’t train yesterday with the group. We’re nursing him at the minute but he should be okay. He came off the other night because of the shift that he put in. He fatigued towards the end of the game, and I wasn’t aware of a knock on his ankle when we took him off. It’s not serious and we will just monitor him today.”

Ireland U21 skipper Conor Coventry also praised Ferguson’s influence since coming into the side.

“He’s right up there [in terms of young players], to be playing at this level at his age, you’ve got to be a top player. He’s scoring as well. He’s really contributing to the games, so he’s a top player with a massive future. He’s got to keep working hard and keep himself in the right place.”

The West Ham player added that his teammate was not shy in expressing himself around the group, despite his tender years even in comparison to those around him.

“I wouldn’t say he’s too quiet. But you forget how young he is, especially when you look at him, how good he is. And he’s so good physically as well.

“He’s got enough personality, a really important part of the group and everyone loves having him here.”

Whether Ferguson is deemed fit and ready to start remains to be seen, but Crawford did indicate there were likely to be some changes to Friday’s starting XI.

“I think we’ll have to freshen it up. I wouldn’t be embarrassed to say that because I think the effort that was put in, and the outputs back it up. With the technology we have now, we know it would be very hard for players to go again. So look, we might have to freshen one or two positions, but nothing of huge significance.

“I think it’s also a measure of the confidence we have in the whole squad and we’ve said it time and again — players are picked for the Irish U21s because of their ability, their form at that particular time, it just wouldn’t stop me from giving somebody an opportunity that deserves it.”