David Sneyd

EVAN FERGUSON HAS been the name on everyone’s lips in Irish football so far in 2023.

Even more so over the last week given the nature of concern surrounding the extent of his knee injury following that reckless tackle from Fabinho during Brighton’s FA Cup win over Liverpool.

Ireland U-21 manager Jim Crawford might just be excused for wishing the 18-year-old was not quite taking the Premier League by storm, given the promising striker is one of the few remaining from the squad which reached the European Championship play-off final with Israel last year who is eligible for the 2025 qualifying campaign.

Some 26 players have graduated from the age grade for the forthcoming qualifiers, which begin in September and saw Ireland pitted with Italy (again), Norway, Turkey, Latvia and San Marino in Thursday’s draw.

The nature of the U-21s – especially so in the current climate – is that those players making a real mark at club level are likely to come on the radar of the senior side.

Such has been Ferguson’s development, he was actually 16 when Crawford first introduced him to 21s.

“On paper I am sort of saying to myself, ‘this does not feel right, I should not be bringing in a 16-year-old to an Under-21 campaign’, but physically he did not look out of place whatsoever,” Crawford recalls.

“But as soon as I saw him in the games, in training, in the shooting practices we did, I could see he was an outstanding prospect.”

Very early days, of course, but Ferguson is beginning to show everyone else the same with three goals and two assists since New Year’s Eve.

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi even suggested in his pre-match press conference yesterday that the bone bruising Ferguson suffered might not rule him out of the game with Bournemouth this afternoon.

“The best is yet to come with him. He is mature beyond his years, that is for sure,” Crawford continues.

He is an outstanding professional. Every window he came in with us, he just got better and better. He went through this whole process where he started training with the (Brighton) first team, then he got a couple of appearances for them, and that helps you develop.

“Now he is in the first team and playing and that is going to kick him on even more, but I am delighted with how he is playing.”

The next challenge will be to maintain the level he is currently operating at and improve further.

“Having a bullet-proof mindset is key to that. Living right, training right, being assertive in terms of asking questions of your coaches, to not being afraid to knock on your coach’s door and ask him to go over (video) clips,” Crawford explains.

“I give that advice to all the Under-21 players and they all do it. I think it is the Generation Z. They like to sit down and go through clips of themselves and the opposition. It is important to be consistent with that. Then there is the other side of it, the lucky breaks that you need.

“You need to avoid serious injuries. He is on solid footing in terms of his mentality because he comes from a great family, very much a grounded family, so there are so many variables to players reaching the top. But if I was to be asked what is the main thing, it is having that bullet-proof mentality where you ask the question of yourself every day: how can I get better?

“Yeah, he does [have those qualities]. He is a fantastic, outstanding professional.”

It was clear that Ferguson’s ascension to the seniors was already in motion before his breakthrough with Brighton. Ireland manager Stephen Kenny introduced him and midfielder Will Smallbone into the fold for the friendly double header in November.

The latter is another Crawford can no longer call on, along with captain Conor Coventry, the experienced Lee O’Connor and goalkeeper Brian Maher.

There are several more, including Mark McGuinness, Gavin Kilkenny, Ross Tierney, Joshua Kayode and Tyreik Wright, all of whom were cornerstones of the team.

Jim Crawford (left) with Stephen Kenny. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO

It was also only in the last fortnight that Crawford, along with assistant coaches Alan Reynolds and John O’Shea signed new contracts.

“It was always going to happen, I was comfortable with it, I was calm with the whole situation, it wasn’t like I was panicking at all. But it was matter of getting me over the line and the two boys over the line. It was never an issue being honest,” he says.

Given the nature of turnover and the calibre of the group – Italy are top seeds and Norway ranked highest among the sides in Pot Three with Ireland in the second tier – is reaching another play-off, or even going one better, actually feasible when Ireland are effectively starting from scratch?

“Ye know, we kept bringing in younger players that we knew that would be featuring in this campaign, who would be big players in the campaign. There were certain camps when we had three or four younger ones in, it was important to do that to know the levels and the standard.

As long as they understand what we are looking for, that they’re comfortable with us, we make sure as a staff with the younger ones coming in that we roll out a red carpet for them. We sit down, we have conversations with them, we get to know what motivates them.

“That’s important so you are hitting the ground running when they come in. March will be the first time we’re assembled together [for a friendly with Iceland in Cork] and it’s important.

“It’s something we said from the very start, it’s something we need to do and they’re a good group that is coming through, there is no doubt about it.”