Burnley face transfer battle with Leicester City and Fulham for Brighton star | OneFootball

Burnley are set to face Premier League competition for Brighton and Hove Albion's Evan Ferguson

Premier League duo Leicester City and Fulham are both reportedly keen on a move for Brighton and Hove Albion forward Evan Ferguson, who is also said to be of interest to Burnley.

The latest development regarding a potential January departure for Ferguson comes via a recent report from Football Insider, where it has been claimed that Leicester and Fulham have registered interest ahead of the turn of the year.

This claim could come as something of a blow to Burnley, who are also interested in the Republic of Ireland international according to The Sun’s Alan Nixon - via his exclusive Patreon service.

Having been widely regarded as one of the most promising young centre-forwards in world football just over a year ago, Ferguson’s trajectory has slowed down as of late.

Ferguson, who shot to prominence after scoring ten Premier League strikes as a teenager for the Seagulls in the 2022/23 campaign, endured a 33-game goal drought before opening his account for the season in a 2-2 home draw against Wolves last month.

The 20-year-old is currently third-choice for Fabian Hurzeler behind Joao Pedro and Danny Welbeck, starting just one top-flight match so far this term. Following his emphatic breakthrough in first-team football, Brighton would have no doubt been fearing the prospect of seeing Ferguson prized away in the past, but it now appears as though a loan exit could be on the cards in a bid to gain sufficient match minutes elsewhere.

Leicester, Fulham in for Brighton’s Evan Ferguson amid Burnley interest

The latest report from Football Insider claims that 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. Football Insider recently reported that Ferguson is ready to leave the south coast club in January, as he's unhappy with the limited game time available under Hurzeler following his summer appointment.

Meanwhile, as per Alan Nixon, who also made claim to Leicester's interest, Burnley are keen on acquiring the frontman on loan in the next window. 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.

It adds that a permanent departure has been mooted, which is the deal which Leicester would need to strike in order to land his services. That's because the Foxes already have Brighton's highly-rated young playmaker Facundo Buonanotte on loan and they don't have space for another Premier League loanee, having also brought in Crystal Palace striker Odsonne Edouard for the campaign.

Burnley will be hoping that factor works in their favour, although it would be hard to rule out more top-flight clubs - particularly those fighting against relegation like the Foxes currently are - joining the race in the coming weeks.

Burnley must sign a striker in the January transfer window

Make no mistake about it, signing a new striker in the January window must be a chief call of duty for the Clarets. Scott Parker's side are currently fourth in the Championship and have been extremely resolute from a defensive standpoint, although there is palpable concern about their lack of goals.

At the time of writing, Burnley are averaging just 1.2 goals per match, they have the division's sixth-lowest xG at 16.4 - below 22nd-placed Hull City and they've failed to score more than one goal in any of their last six fixtures. Central midfielder Josh Brownhill is the only player at Turf Moor to have found the back of the net on more than two occasions after 16 matches, with summer signing Andreas Hountondji yet to open his account while the likes of Lyle Foster and Zian Flemming haven't met expectations in front of goal.

How well Burnley remedy their significant goalscoring issue will likely dictate what league they're playing in next season, with promotion an undoubted priority under Parker after being relegated from the top-flight last term.

Somebody like Ferguson, then, would represent an inspired signing, but the Clarets should perhaps be wary of potentially placing all their eggs into one basket with a player who is evidently still vastly above second-tier level and will have a host of clubs able to offer the opportunity of receiving minutes elsewhere while remaining in the Premier League.