Should Southampton target the teenager who made Premier League history?

Southampton could look to the loan market for some mid-season additions when the January transfer window opens.

Last January, the loan route worked a treat, as both Daniel Peretz and Cyle Larin would join to bolster Tonda Eckert's promotion-chasing squad.

Now, Peretz and Larin - when he's fit - are guaranteed starters on the South Coast, having both joined permanently during the hectic summer window, after Spygate unfortunately killed that promotion dream.

Thankfully, the dream is back on during the unfolding campaign, but some additions are needed again to boost this pursuit, with a back-up striker to the Brampton Bagsman a priority when the window does swing open.

Maybe, the Saints could look towards this Premier League title challenger for a loan striker signing...

Saints could target this Premier League striker

Football League World suggests that Eckert and Co. should look at picking up Brighton and Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson in their hunt to find a perfect back-up to Larin.

They also suggest that Wolverhampton Wanderers, one of the Saints' promotion rivals, should be looking at snapping up his signature when the drama of the January window resumes, with ex-St Mary's attacker Adam Armstrong not quite firing on all cylinders at Molineux.

The big risk with going after the Irish marksman is that he has been plagued with recurring injury problems for a long time, with Ferguson out of action right now with an ankle issue.

He has been in and out of the Seagulls' treatment room since a nasty cruciate ligament injury in 2024, as he has gone from being a regular starter at the Amex, to no minutes at all.

Indeed, he hasn't featured at all this season for Fabian Hurzeler's men so it's not as if he would be entering Eckert's ranks and be immediately ready to go.

It is stated that he should be back from this latest setback this month, when looking at Sofascore, and despite all the cons stacking up, if the Saints can get the very best out of the 6-foot centre-forward again, he could blow away the second-tier as a lethal second-in-command goalscorer.

It could be a worthwhile gamble

Before all these injury hiccups dominated the conversation involving the Brighton number 28, he was seen as a very bright young talent for the Seagulls.

Ferguson will forever be in the history books in the Premier League for a quick-fire hat-trick he managed to put away with ease against Newcastle United in September 2023.

Amazingly, by scoring this hat-trick, which was a career first for the wide-eyed striker, he became the fourth ever hat-trick goalscorer at the age of just 18 in top-flight history, with Michael Owen another notable teenager who managed this incredible feat.

It was such a remarkable achievement that even Newcastle great Alan Shearer had to stand up and applaud, even after his beloved Toon had just been trounced, with Shearer noting that he is a "very special talent."

It wasn't just a one-off show of his goalscoring prowess, however, as Ferguson has an impressive 16 top-flight goals from 2725 minutes of action in the elite league.

Roberto De Zerbi, who managed Ferguson during his Seagulls prime, would regularly wax lyrical about the imposing forward, with De Zerbi boldly stating that the young striker has the potential to "become one of the best" in the whole of Europe after his blistering Toon hat-trick.

He was even touted to be worth a bonkers £100m at one stage, with Chelsea once having the much-talked-about youngster on their transfer radar.

Cruelly, injuries have got in his way in recent years to stop him from fulfilling his potential, but he did manage to bag three goals out on loan at AS Roma last season, from only ten Serie A starts.

There is enough there to see why FLW tipped the Saints to chase after Ferguson's signature, as they look for a quick remedy to their striker issues.

It would be a huge risk, but it could end up being a worthwhile gamble, if the 22-year-old's stop-start career can be injury-free at St. Mary's.

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