Evan Ferguson The Next Wayne Rooney? Neil Lennon Gives His Verdict

Evan Ferguson is the bright young star of Irish football after bursting onto the scene this season with incredible displays for club Brighton.

The young Ireland international is only 18 years of age and looks like he has everything that is needed in a striker to make it to the very top of the game.

The Bettystown, Co. Meath native has seen his transfer value rise from only €1m in November of 2022 all the way up to €10m as of this March according to Transfermarkt.com.

The talent with Ferguson is blindingly obvious and has quickly drawn him comparisons to legends of the Premier League and Irish football such as Wayne Rooney and Robbie Keane.

Here at BoyleSports we got a chance to sit down with former Celtic manager Neil Lennon to get his take on what Evan Ferguson's potential is and what he makes of comparisons between Ferguson and a young Wayne Rooney.

Comparing Evan Ferguson To A Young Wayne Rooney

What do you make of that comparison?

I’ve been so impressed with him, he has been brilliant. He’s got natural talent, he’s got good size and he has so many of the attributes that fit a modern day striker.

Obviously he is playing in a team that are excelling at the minute in Brighton, he can only flourish.

To make comparisons is folly, you want him to plough his own furrow. I’m delighted he has decided to play for Ireland because they have lost a couple of big players over the years. To be honest with you, every country like Ireland needs a goalscorer.

Ireland had Robbie Keane for years, Wales had Gareth Bale and it’ll be interesting to see how they’ll fare without him - a player that can win games on his own.

You’ve got to leave players like Evan to it and let him develop into a top class player. He is showing all of those signs so far.

Ahead of the Old Firm this weekend and with Ireland's strong Celtic connections in mind we took a look at the top 5 Irish players to put on the green and white of Celtic.

Should Kieran Tierney Leave Arsenal For Celtic?

Kieran Tierney has been linked with a move away from Arsenal after losing his starting place. Is that a move Celtic should consider? Where would be the ideal destination if not Celtic?

I think he will be used between now and the end of the season and I think he is going to play a massive part in Mikel’s plans. I watched him play left centre-half for Scotland against Spain and he was outstanding.

He’s a brilliant player who has struggled with niggly injuries over the years and you hope he can get a good run of games.

I really think he is a top defender and I think the closer Arsenal get towards the end of the season, the more or a role I think he will play. I like Zinchenko and I think he is a fabulous player, but I’m not convinced he’s as good a defender as Kieran.

I think he is actually likely to play at the Etihad against Man City, he may not have as soft feet as Zinchenko - who can manipulate the ball in tight areas - Kieran is more of a dynamic player who drives teams up the pitch. But he is a brilliant defender, who still has a lot to offer Arsenal and Mikel, which will certainly be in the back of his mind as well.

He’s a Rolls Royce of a player and brilliant professional as well, who gives Scotland a lot of security with his pace and power at the back. I think that as a one-on-one defender, he is as good as anyone in the game as well.

We previewed the Old Firm this Saturday in a recent post as both the green and blue of Glasgow go head-to-head once again.

How Good Was Henrik Larsson?

Henrik from his peak, so the ages of 28 onwards, you would be talking about £100million plus comfortably. I really like Darwin Nunez at Liverpool, he wouldn’t be as prolific as Henrik, and he was £75m.

So you would easily need to talk more for Henrik because of his ratio of goals to games. Henrik left Celtic on a free to join Barcelona and he more or less scored in every game when he played for them. He came on in the Champions League final against Arsenal in 2006 and changed the game. Then he went to Man United - at the age of about 35, 36 - and he wins the Premier League.

The guy had everything, he was world class and I was fortunate enough to play with him for four or five years. Every time you sat in the dressing room, you would look at him and just know you had a chance in the game because he could score with either foot and he was unbelievable in the air.

He used to hang like Cristiano Ronaldo, bearing in mind he wasn’t a particularly tall guy and didn’t have rippling shoulder muscles.

Henrik Larsson played a massive part in the Old Firm derby during his career, a rivalry synonymous with controversy. In a recent post we counted down the 5 most controversial Old Firm games of all-time.

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