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.
13. Kaiky - UD Almería
Kaiky joined Santos at the age of nine and signed his first professional deal in February 2020. The defender scored his first goal on his Copa Libertadores debut in March 2021 at just 17. Kaiky established himself as a regular in Santos' first team before moving to Spanish club UD Almería in August. The 19-year-old, who captained Brazil under-15s to 2019 South American U-15 Championship glory, has so far made nine appearances for the La Liga outfit Photo: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images
14. Garang Kuol - Newcastle United (on loan at Heart of Midlothian)
Highly-rated Garang Kuol arrived at Newcastle United having shone in Australia for Central Coast Mariners. Kuol provided a goal or assist every 57.5 minutes for the Mariners, prompting the Magpies to swoop for the 18-year-old. The forward has been sent on loan to Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian to gain first team minutes. Kuol has also broken several Australia national team records. Kuol's debut against New Zealand in September - at 18 years and ten days - made him the sixth-youngest Socceroo of all time. His selection for the 2022 FIFA World Cup made Kuol the youngest player ever to represent Australia at a FIFA World Cup. The striker came on as a sub against France in the group stages, making him the youngest player to appear at a FIFA World Cup for Australia. Kuol's substitute appearance against Argentina in the round of 16 saw him become the youngest player to feature in a FIFA World Cup knockout match since Pelé at the 1958 FIFA World Cup Photo: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
15. Rico Lewis - Manchester City
Rico Lewis has received plenty of game time at Manchester City this season. The right-back has made 18 appearances in all competitions, scoring once. Lewis' first City goal came in the 3-1 UEFA Champions League win over Sevilla in November. His goal saw him become the all-time youngest scorer on a first start in a UEFA Champions League match, and City's youngest ever UEFA Champions League scorer, aged 17 years and 346 days. The 18-year-old received his first England under-21 call-up on March 17 Photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images
16. Gabriel Misehouy - Ajax
Seventeen-year-old midfielder Gabriel Misehouy (right) is a regular for Jong Ajax in the Dutch second division. The Amsterdam native was a key member of the Netherlands under-17s side that reached the 2022 U17 European Championship final Photo: JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images