The Irish forward has been named alongside some of the world’s best youngsters in this year’s GOAL NXGN Awards.
Ferguson has been a revelation since breaking into the Brighton team. The 18-year-old has netted six goals in 14 appearances for the Seagulls, and marked his first senior start for the Republic of Ireland with a debut goal against Latvia.
He is joined on the list by Brighton teammate Facundo Buonanotte. The Argentine joined Albion from Rosario Central in January and has so far made four appearances for the Seagulls.
But who else has made this list of the game’s brightest stars of the future?
The 50 unranked nominees feature talents from across European football’s biggest clubs – including FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester United.
This year, instead of selecting a sole award winner, GOAL chose an elite group that they believe are the very top of the class – known as the NXGN Nine.
Here is part two – looking at the next 25 nominees for the NXGN award.
You can view the first 25 nominees here.
5. Iker Bravo - Bayer Leverkusen (on loan at Real Madrid)
FC Barcelona youth academy product Iker Bravo move to German club Bayer Leverkusen in July 2021. He became the youngest-ever debutant for Leverkusen at 16 years, nine months and 15 days in October 2021, coming on as a late substitute in the 2-1 DFB-Pokal defeat to Karlsruher SC. Bravo joined Real Madrid Castilla on a season-long loan in August 2022. Real are expected to pay Leverkusen €6m to make Bravo's loan deal permanent this summer. The 18-year-old has also netted 11 goals in 14 games for Spain under-17s Photo: Christof Koepsel/Getty Images
6. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens - Borussia Dortmund
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens followed in Jadon Sancho's footsteps by swapping Manchester City for Borussia Dortmund in 2020. The winger's first season in Dortmund was hampered by the Covid pandemic and injury, but the following campaign saw the starlet begin to shine. The 18-year-old netted six goals in four 2021/22 UEFA Youth League games, earning him a call-up to BVB's senior squad. Bynoe-Gittens made his Bundesliga debut in April 2022, and scored his first senior goal just four months later. The wing wizard, who also lifted the 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship title with England in June, has since scored three goals in 21 appearances for Dortmund Photo: Martin Rose/Getty Images
7. Mohamed-Ali Cho - Real Sociedad
Former Paris Saint-Germain and Everton academy product Mohamed Ali-Cho became the second youngest player to sign a professional contract in France when he put pen to paper at Angers SCO in May 2020. The forward then quickly established himself in the Angers first team. Cho scored four goals in 56 appearances before moving to La Liga side Real Sociedad in June. The France under-21 international has, so far, scored once in 11 appearances for La Real Photo: Paolo Bruno/Getty Images
8. Désiré Doué - Stade Rennais
Désiré Doué has become a regular in the Stade Rennais first team since making his debut in August. The 17-year-old has scored three Ligue 1 goals in 15 appearances, and netted his first European goal in Rennes' 2-1 UEFA Europa League home win over Dynamo Kyiv in October. The midfielder also starred for France under-17s in their title-winning campaign at the 2022 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Photo: LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images