Furlong tips Ferguson to shake off the rising price tag

Evan Ferguson’s former Brighton teammate James Furlong insists the £100m price tag attracted by the teen sensation won’t faze him.

Ireland U21 squad member Furlong last week completed his move to Hull City but is watching closely as his friends grasps global headlines.

Saturday’s hat-trick against Newcastle United was the only the fourth time that a player aged 18 or under has accomplished the feat over the 31-year Premier League era.

Ferguson’s reputation was already soaring before his latest contribution, with the inevitably of him operating at a higher stage garnering discussion.

The Seagulls recently banked a British record fee of £115m from Chelsea for Moses Caicedo and that would easily be matched or exceeded was the Bettystown striker to maintain his arc.

Furlong, speaking ahead of Ireland’s U21 Euro qualifiers on Friday in Turner’s Cross against Turkey and San Marino next Monday, is certain the waves of attention won’t affect Ferguson, either on or off the pitch. While the left-wing back joined Brighton’s academy from Shamrock Rovers, he soon had a compatriot when Ferguson moved from Bohemians, after spending most of his development at St Kevin’s Boys.

“Evan is the same person I first met and he hasn’t changed at all,” said 21-year-old Furlong.

“Everybody would say the same about him and he’s a top player as well.

“I’d never played with or against Evan in Ireland until he moved to Brighton but you could see from the minute he arrived that there was something about him.

“To make the set-up from the Under-23s to first-team so quickly was really impressive. He’s taking it all his stride but to score a hat-trick at his age was brilliant.

“His background keeps him grounded. Evan is a really humble guy with a