Why Roma Could be the Perfect Place for Ferguson to Bounce Back

Why Roma Could be the Perfect Place for Ferguson to Bounce Back

AS Roma have confirmed Brighton forward Evan Ferguson on a season-long loan, with an option to buy for just under €40m. He was targeted by Roma following the departures of Eldor Shomourodov and Tammy Abraham to act as a second-choice striker behind Artem Dovbyk.

🚨🟡🔴 Evan Ferguson to AS Roma, here we go! Deal agreed with Brighton on initial loan with €40m buy option clause.

Ferguson preferred Roma ahead of several clubs keen and the agreement is now verbally between all parties, #BHAFC approved.

New striker for Gasperini. 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/vrkZlVJyOE

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 19, 2025

Despite being a once foreseen superstar, Ferguson has not lived up to the same hype around him in 2023 and he struggled since his emphatic start to his senior career for the Seagulls.

A failed move to West Ham has seen fans beginning to lose hope in a once flaming hot prospect but is the move to Rome what the striker needs to reignite his career once again. Here, Football Park takes a deep dive on Ferguson’s potential to salvage a career that seemed all but lost.

A Breakthrough Star to West Ham Flop

The Irishman stormed onto the Premier League scene and became Brighton’s youngest ever goalscorer in the Premier League at just 18 years and 10 months old. In just his third Premier League game, and he was yet to even start a match. He scored just 17 minutes after coming on as substitute at home to Arsenal on New Year’s Eve in 2022. Just three days later, he was at it again, as he earned his first Premier League start and starred with a goal and assist at Goodison Park.

Fast forward to September 2023, and Ferguson would make more history. The teenage sensation played a breath-taking role in Brighton’s 3-1 win over Newcastle, as he became the fourth-youngest hat-trick scorer in Premier League history. The game marked his 10th Premier League goal and soon earned him a contract extension, penning his stay on the south coast until June 2029.

⚽️⚽️ ⚽️ Only 3 players have scored a PL hat-trick at a younger age than Evan Ferguson (18 years, 318 days)

Michael Owen (x3)
Robbie Fowler
Chris Bart-Williams pic.twitter.com/cwgqI9yfjQ

— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) September 2, 2023

Ferguson promised to become a “top Premier League talent” and from what we saw before he turned 20 was exceptional skills and had no doubt that he would be the next star talent of his generation. He carried on his spectacular form throughout Ireland’s European Championship Qualification campaign, scoring twice and providing an assist as the Boys in Green failed to qualify for the tournament in Germany.

At this time, Brighton were even entering the January transfer window with the teenager valued at around £100m, which you may think is far too much, however, considering Ferguson’s path, form at the time and mass hype surrounding his name, it can hardly be argued. It was then when his career seemed to come to a very, very sudden halt.

Within the 12 months that followed his historic performance against The Magpies, the Irishman scored just three goals, with there being an 11-month gap between him finding the net at all. This poor run of form resulted in him scoring six goals in back-to-back seasons, to then playing just 14 times for Brighton before January, where he was sent to spend the rest of the campaign in East London with West Ham.

He went onto play just seven times for the Hammers, and failed to make a good impression to former boss Graham Potter, as he only started once. He has now found himself not to be part of Fabian Hürzeler’s plans for next season, and he knows that his time on the south coast may have come to an end.

The 20-year-old now looks to come to the Serie A in order to find some game time, and it is with Roma and under their new manager Gian Piero Gasperini, where he believes he can reignite his career.

💛❤️✈️ Evan Ferguson has landed in Roma in order to sign in as new AS Roma player from Brighton.

€3m loan fee, €37m buy option clause not mandatory for Ferguson approved by #BHAFC.@gabspalletta 🎥 pic.twitter.com/JJt3uzmuv2

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 20, 2025

Tactical Fit

AS Roma fans will be excited by the arrival of Gasperini, who won the Europa League with Atalanta just two seasons ago, as he likes to deploy a very unique style of play. Inspired by the 1990’s Ajax outfit, largely characterised by the 3-3-3-1 formation, which can often turn into a 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-1-2. His system relies on a progressive style of football, where certain players will need to make sacrifices for collective gains as they push up the field.

In offensive drives, his style of play relies on off-the-ball movements from the advanced playmaker to create overloads on either wing. This enables his side to use the space created and make triangular passes to efficiently move into the attacking third.

Gasperini’s teams tend to enjoy starting their attacking advances on the flanks, and by including the wing-back in these triangular passing actions, it allows the wing-back to continue pushing up the pitch, constantly finding space. This movement attracts defenders towards the play, creating space for the second striker as shown below, to also take advantage of the open wing areas.

They also like to display this transition in attack at an efficient, quick tempo to allow defenders very limited time to pick up what Gasperini is putting down, and therefore more chance for the defence to make a mistake, where his side can exploit the sudden advantage as they look to create a quality-scoring chance.

Ferguson is believed to fit the bill and could have the potential to prove a good fit for Gasperini’s system. He will have plenty of things to work on however, so it may take some time to adapt to the nature of being a striker in the Serie A. Strikers in Italian football are required to be clinical with their chances, due to the strong discipline of veteran defensive backlines. He will also need to drop back into the midfield to relieve pressure and take part in the build-up as the second striker to Dovbyk.

Defenders in the country are known for competing in intense physical duels, which could be a concern for Roma fans, due to the injury history of the Irishman. But if all goes well, he could certainly play a key role under Gasperini and form a dangerous partnership with the Ukrainian.

There are a number of weaknesses in terms of Ferguson’s hold-up play and his ability to compete for duels and if defenders are able to notice this, it may cause problems for Ferguson’s future in Italy.

Can Ferguson Reignite his Career in Rome?

Only time will tell whether he will salvage his career and prove there is a lot more down the road he is on than just injuries and struggles. He has proven he has what it takes to be a world-class striker, in the Premier League at that.

But Gasperini’s tactics and system will be very demanding of him and his ability to not just adjust to what is needed from him, but also to perform at the highest-level multiple times a week due to European commitments. The Italian does have a good track record in developing young players with Rasmus Højlund, Teun Koopmeiners, Cristian Romero, and Dejan Kulusevski just to name a few who have starred under his philosophies and Ferguson will hope to become the latest player on the list and also join a number of players to find success abroad.

He is still only 20-years-old, and he has proven before that he has all the tools, and he will have the energy to keep up with the pace. We have seen glimpses of his excellence, and we know the fans are on his side, but to regain his confidence and get his career back on track, he will ultimately need the coach to believe in him, and to regain his goalscoring touch.