Will it be the end for Ferguson if he joins Chelsea?

Chelsea targets Evan Ferguson to solve the striker problem, but it is clear that this young Irish star needs to consider carefully before joining what is considered a “striker’s grave”.

Since president Todd Boehly took over the reins of the club from billionaire Roman Abramovich in May 2022, the 50-year-old businessman has spent more than 1 billion pounds on recruiting new recruits over the past year and a half. However, up to now, The Blues still cannot own a high-class striker. 

Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku may be bright stars, but the above duo are not true strikers. While Nicholas Jackson has still not been able to regain his peak form when he was with Villarreal. 

Therefore, it is not surprising that in recent days the British media has reported that coach Mauricio Pochettino wants the board to spend a lot of money to convince one of the most potential young strikers in the Premier League today, Ferguson, to land at Stamford Bridge. next time. Even according to the Evening Standard, the west London club is ready to break the bank to make Brighton & Hove Albion cannot be denied. 

Of course, with his talent, leaving a mid-range club like Brighton will only be a matter of time for Ferguson, but is Chelsea a good land for this 19-year-old striker to develop? 

The curse of the number 9 shirt 

Former Chelsea head coach for the period 2021-2022 Thomas Tuchel once revealed that no player of The Blues at that time dared to accept the number 9 shirt. “No one wanted to touch it”, Tuchel said. 

It’s hard to blame Chelsea players because that shirt number “drowned” the talents of their predecessors such as Chris Sutton, Mateja Kezman, Fernando Torres, Radamel Falcao, Alvaro Morata, Gonzalo Higuain or Romelu Lukaku. 

Of course, the core problem is not due to this number, but this has become a bad precedent causing those who wear this shirt number to face enormous psychological pressure. For a player like Ferguson who has not yet reached his twenties, there is a high possibility that the striker born in 2004 will become the next “victim” of this number 9 curse. 

Only 1/34 successful contracts under the Boehly dynasty

With more than 1 billion pounds spent, President Boehly brought a total of 34 players to Chelsea from the 2022 summer market, but only Palmer is the contract that has shown value so far.

Pochettino is of course a good coach because of his previous successes at Southampton or Tottenham Hotspur, but after 7 months of arriving at Stamford Bridge, fans of the west London club have yet to see any signs of improvement. 

Chelsea is still ranked in the middle of the Premier League rankings even though the 2023/24 season has passed halfway. Even in the middle of last week, the Blues’ billion-dollar squad lost to Middlesbrough, a club currently playing in England’s second division, which still makes Pochettino receive many doubts from fans. 

Lessons Levi Colwill – Moises Caicedo

Before making a decision with Chelsea, Ferguson should probably consult the two examples of Colwill and Caicedo, who decided to leave Brighton for the Blues in the 2023 summer transfer window. 

Colwill had a beautiful 2022/23 season at The Amex Stadium when he was loaned by Chelsea. The English star was used by coach Roberto De Zerbi as a left-field center back and maximized his potential. 

From a player expected to be in the England squad at the upcoming EURO 2024, but now, when deciding to refuse De Zerbi’s offer to stay at Brighton to decide to return to play for Chelsea, Colwill gradually His potential is “dwindled” when coach Pochettino is trying to “mold” him to the left-back position rather than using Colwill as a central defender. 

In addition, joining a club that is in a chaotic period like Chelsea right now will make it difficult for Ferguson to develop himself the way Rasmus Hojlund had to go through at Manchester United. 

Of course the Irish star can challenge himself at big teams because of his huge potential. But Ferguson needs to be patient and continue to learn at Brighton before taking off to a harsher land, just like what his teacher De Zerbi once told him: “Ferguson can become to become a world-class striker but he should persevere, he has many good qualities but I don’t use him often because I don’t want him to be under pressure at such a young age like he is now.