Manchester City rule out move for Brighton teenage sensation

Manchester City have distanced themselves from reports linking the club with Brighton striker Evan Ferguson.

The treble-winners made four summer signings, providing reinforcements throughout defence, midfield and attack; with the additions of Mateo Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol, Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes.

Furthermore, Pep Guardiola signed two new strikers in 2022, as both Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez moved to the Etihad Stadium from Borussia Dortmund and River Plate, respectively.

The forward pair, who are both shortlisted for the men’s Ballon d’Or, enjoyed remarkable campaigns, as Alvarez’s helped Argentina to the FIFA World Cup, and Haaland scored an incredible 52 goals across all competitions.

Haaland was named the PFA Player of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year and Premier League Player of the Season, having smashed Alan Shearer and Andy Cole’s goalscoring record and won a triumphant treble with Manchester City.

Guardiola’s side won the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and Emirates FA Cup last season, and are now bidding to win the league title for a fourth successive season.

Despite the new campaign only just starting and the recent closure of the transfer window, Manchester City are reportedly already lining up future signings, with West Ham’s Nayef Aguerd and Brighton’s Evan Ferguson emerging as possible targets.

Mark Douglas recently claimed that the treble-winners were amongst a number of Premier League clubs to be monitoring Brighton striker Evan Ferguson.

The 18-year-old has enjoyed an impressive start to the new campaign, scoring four goals in four matches for the Seagulls.

Ferguson scored a hat-trick against Newcastle prior to the international break, and was also directly involved in 21 goals for Brighton last season.

The teenager isn’t however considered a current target by Manchester City according to Mike Minay, who reports that the the Blues are ‘are happy with their striking options and don’t feel the need to be looking for additions’ at the current moment.

Julian Alvarez was linked with a potential move to Bayern Munich during the summer, and La Liga heavyweights Real Madrid have also been claimed to be considering the 23-year-old, having lost Karim Benzema to Saudi Arabia.

Erling Haaland is currently contracted at the Etihad Stadium until 2027, and a £150 million release clause in the Norwegian’s contract which became active in 2024, was recently removed, following Pep Guardiola’s new deal.