Manchester City would be negligent not to be keeping an eye on Evan Ferguson.
In the same way that their knowledge of Erling Haaland stretched back to his days at Molde, when a teenager scores a Premier League hat-trick it is not something to ignore. Having already been making a name for himself at Brighton, scoring three goals against a Champions League team before his 19th birthday has elevated him further onto the radar of top European clubs.
There was a sprinkle of talk about Ferguson in the transfer window just closed and the Irish forward will not need to do too much over the rest of the season to ensure there is even more next summer. However, there would have to be a dramatic change at the Etihad for City to be interested.
One of the big factors Haaland used to choose City in his ranking of potential destinations after Dortmund was the fact that Pep Guardiola needed a striker. Sergio Aguero had been released the year before and Tottenham had refused to sell Harry Kane, meaning that a City weakness became a huge asset up against the likes of Real Madrid with Karim Benzema, Paris Saint-Germain with Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar, and Bayern Munich with Robert Lewandowski.
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It did not take Haaland long to show why so many of the best wanted him, and City will keep the Norwegian for as long as he is happy to stay. He has expressed an ambition to play in different leagues, yet the Blues have him under contract until 2027 and have an excellent track record at keeping their stars content in Manchester.
Joining Haaland on the 30-man list of Ballon D’Or nominees - seven City players are on it in total - is World Cup and Treble winner Julian Alvarez. After arriving in Manchester at the same time as Haaland after staying on at River Plate following his January 2022 transfer, the 23-year-old quickly convinced Guardiola he was another to keep around for as long as possible.
It remains interesting to see how Alvarez functions with Haaland given they both prefer to operate in the same position, but there have already been signs that the pair can work together to devastating effect. An injury to Kevin De Bruyne may have been disappointing news for the City squad, but one upside has been the opportunity to give Alvarez regular starts.
With Alvarez and Haaland, City can feel that their forward line is set for years. And if any striker were considering a move to the Etihad, the sight of those two players would hardly encourage them to make the move.
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