West Ham ‘officially’ contact club over loan deal for Premier League ace | OneFootball

West Ham United have made contact with Brighton & Hove Albion over a proposed move to sign Ireland international striker Evan Ferguson, according to reports.

The January transfer window open has been open for three days now and the Hammers are looking to add another forward to their ranks. Michail Antonio suffered a horror car crash which means he will be out for the remainder of the season, while Jarrod Bowen recently sustained a broken foot.

It had been disclosed that Brighton are looking to offload the 20-year-old this month and that the player himself is in desperate need of game time.

Journalist Ben Jacobs revealed on X, formerly known as Twitter, that West Ham have now ‘contacted Brighton about a potential loan move for Evan Ferguson.’

It’s not clear if Brighton would be willing to sanction an exit for the Irishman in January. Furthermore, it’s been suggested that the club would be open to a loan deal with an obligation-to-buy.

What does Evan Ferguson’s future hold?

Evan Ferguson warming up for Brighton (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)

Evan Ferguson warming up for Brighton (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)

Ferguson signed for Brighton in 2021 from Irish side Bohemians. He made his debut for the club the same year at the age of 16, coming on as a substitute in a 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Cardiff City.

But he truly rose to prominence in the 2022/23 season, when he scored 10 goals in 27 in all competitions. Last campaign, he netted six before missing the last two months due to injury.

Chelsea showed interest in signing the youngster last year, while the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal, have all been linked to the player before.

But Ferguson’s career has taken a bit of a nosedive since then. With the arrival of head coach Fabian Hurzeler, and the signings of attackers, Georginio Rutter, Yankuba Minteh, Brajan Gruda, and Ibrahim Osman, minutes have dried up.

He has featured in 12 Premier League games so far, scoring just one goal, but those matches have mostly come from off the bench as Ferguson has accrued just 220 minutes of Premier League action so far.