'Fresh start' - Evan Ferguson makes 'settled' admission on West Ham following Brighton transfer

The 20-year-old joined the Hammers on loan on deadline day and came on as a substitute at half-time for Carlos Soler. He was unable to affect the game however as Kevin Schade’s goal in the fourth minute was enough to give the Bees the bragging rights over their London rivals.

It was only the second game that Ferguson had featured in eight weeks after being sidelined with an ankle injury. Ferguson appeared in the 7-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the start of the month before the decision was made to let him spend the remainder of the season at the London Stadium.

West Ham’s match against Chelsea was on deadline day so Ferguson couldn’t have featured whilst they had already been knocked out of the FA Cup so Ferguson was afforded some time to get himself ready for his debut. In the game against was an accurate passer of the ball with seven of his nine passes completed and he attempted two shots on goal with one blocked and one saved.

Evan Ferguson on his West Ham debut

“For me personally, it was good to get back out there and make my debut for the Club,” said the Republic of Ireland striker to the official club website.

“I think as the game goes, we all know as a squad and as a unit that it needs to be better.

“I think after the first half, we knew it was probably hard to get worse than it was, so as a substitute, you want to come on and make an impact, and I think the three lads that came on, we gave the team a lift. If you are going to lose a game, you lose it by playing like we did in the second half.

“It was tough work, but I think I've played against teams like that before, and I knew what to expect and was well prepared as we had worked on it during the week.”

Reuniting with Graham Potter

This is the second time in Ferguson’s career that he will have worked under Graham Potter. It was the 49-year-old who gave him his debut in a Seagulls shirt when he came on as a substitute in a Carabao Cup match against Cardiff City. He played five games under Potter with his standout game being against Forest Green Rovers a year later when he got a goal and an assist.

It was Roberto De Zerbi that Ferguson found his feet under, scoring 15 goals under the Italian coach. A series of injury problems has affected his ability to break into the team under Fabian Hurzeler so the best course of action was for Ferguson to reunite with one of his former bosses.

Potter and Ferguson last worked together two and a half years ago but from their first few weeks of working together again, the striker is already feeling settled in the capital. Up next for Ferguson is a game against Arsenal who have been long-term admirers of the talented young forward.

“I feel all right, to be fair,” said Ferguson about his time spent so far with West Ham.

“I think it's good that I'm in a new place, a new environment and sort of having that fresh start.

“It's been good to work with him [Graham Potter] again. I obviously know him well from his time at Brighton, but he's come in and has new ideas, so it's been a positive start, and I feel I've settled in well. It's been all I could've asked for, and now it's time to let my football do the talking.

“We’re looking forward to it. They [Arsenal] are a big team, and they're flying at the moment, but hopefully we can get a result.”