This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Leeds United have been urged to enter the race for Brighton and Hove Albion frontman Evan Ferguson, who has been made available for a loan exit and is currently attracting interest from the Premier League and the Championship.
The Whites are in strong contention to clinch a return to the Premier League at the second time of asking, having won nine of their 16 matches thus far in the 2024/25 Championship campaign.
This return sees Daniel Farke's side currently sitting fourth in the second-tier table, although they're just three points off league leaders Sheffield United and have a game in hand, which will be contested at home to Luton Town this evening. They're pretty much neck-and-neck with Sunderland and Burnley, showing just how much the Championship promotion race is beginning to heat up ahead of the festive period.
With that in mind, Leeds would surely benefit from making a significant statement of intent in the January window to push them over the promotion line come May, and Ferguson could just prove exactly that.
Transfer interest in Brighton's Evan Ferguson
Ferguson, who was one of the hottest young strikers in world football a little over twelve months ago, has seen his trajectory slow down in recent times. The Republic of Ireland international shot to national and indeed global prominence after scoring 10 Premier League goals as a teenager during the 2022/23 campaign, although he went on to endure a 33-game goal drought before opening his account for the season in a 2-2 home draw against Wolves last month.
Evan Ferguson's stats for Brighton and Hove Albion via FotMob, as of November 27
Season
2021/22
2022/23
2023/24
2024/25
He's currently third-choice for Fabian Hurzeler behind Joao Pedro and Danny Welbeck, having started just one top-flight match so far this term. With regular minutes not set to be forthcoming just yet on the south coast, it does appear as though Ferguson could well leave the club on a loan basis in January.
According to a recent report from Football Insider, Leicester and Fulham are both pursuing a loan deal ahead of the January window for Ferguson, with the Cottagers having made an additional centre-forward a top priority.
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Football Insider recently reported that Ferguson is ready to leave in January, as he's unhappy with the limited game time available under Hurzeler following his summer appointment.
However, Ferguson also seemingly has Championship interest in the form of Burnley, whose own admiration has been reported by The Sun's Alan Nixon - via his exclusive Patreon service. Nixon's report states that Brighton are considering a loan exit for Ferguson, who is believed to prefer a switch to a fellow top-flight club as opposed to dropping down to the Championship.
Leeds United urged to enter transfer race for Brighton's Evan Ferguson
Although Elland Road has not yet been mooted as a potential destination for Ferguson, the Irishman still represents the sort of marquee acquisition which supporters will demand in January and, if Burnley are indeed interested, you would imagine Leeds won't be too far away themselves.
Evan Ferguson Brighton
With that in mind, we decided to ask our Whites fan pundit, Kris Smith, if he believes Ferguson is a player Leeds should also be lookng at ahead of the January window.
"Evan Ferguson looks to be available in the new year on a loan deal and I doubt that there are many teams outside of the current top eight in the Premier League that wouldn't like to take him on loan," Kris explained to Football League World.
"Obviously everyone knows he's an incredible talent, but the wide variety of skills that he has for such a physically robust striker and the maturity he's shown already in his career makes him a brilliant option for a lot of teams.
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["A shame" - Leeds United: Patrick Bamford "replacement" claim made ahead of January transfer window](https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/leeds-united-patrick-bamford-january-transfer-claim-made/ ""A shame" - Leeds United: Patrick Bamford "replacement" claim made ahead of January transfer window")
FLW's Leeds United fan pundit has given his verdict on whether the club should cash in on Patrick Bamford in January
"He would suit a lot of systems in the Premier League and in the Championship or any other teams across Europe that might want him.
"I think if there's any scope of him dropping down to a Championship club in the new year, Leeds have to be at the front of the queue and they have to muscle a team like Burnley out of the way, whatever it takes.
"If Ferguson would drop into the Championship, Leeds have to do everything to get him over the line. It's the sort of signing that would be the difference between Leeds making a meal out of finishing in the top two and cruising there with no trouble."