Why Evan Ferguson would have to be mad to join Chelsea from Brighton

It is accepted certainty that Evan Ferguson will leave Brighton at some point in the next few years, potentially as soon as this summer's transfer window. But for Chelsea? He would have to be mad to swap the American Express Stadium for Stamford Bridge.

And if his fledgling career so far has shown us anything, it is that Ferguson is not mad. Far from it. He is an older, wiser head on young shoulders. He makes remarkably sensible decisions based on what is good for his career rather than his bank balance.

Ferguson wants to develop into the best player he can. To that end, he appears to have a good team around him, as opposed to the sort of money-obsessed agents whose self-interest can often damage the careers of the promising young talents they profess to support. Hence why negotiations over a new Brighton contract running through to 2029 which Ferguson signed in November were said to be so straightforward.

It also explains why Ferguson moved to the Albion in the first place. Having first come to prominence when playing as a 14-year-old for League of Ireland side Bohemians in a pre-season friendly against Chelsea in July 2019, every top club in England and Scotland were interested in securing Ferguson's services.

He had trials with Manchester United, Everton, Celtic and Liverpool. The Reds were particularly eager to take Ferguson to Anfield and he spent several weeks training on Merseyside. All of those clubs would have offered more money than Brighton, and yet Ferguson opted to sign for the Seagulls in January 2021.

Talking about the decision in an interview with, Ferguson said: «I went to Liverpool a few times. It’s a good club, but you see so many boys at Liverpool just fading away and there’s no chance to get in the