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.
21. Luka Romero - SS Lazio
Luka Romero made his senior debut for Spanish club Real Mallorca aged just 15 years and 219 days. He broke the record for the youngest player to ever play a professional match in La Liga, and the age record for the five top European leagues - which had stood since 1960. Romero moved to Lazio in August 2021, and became the club's youngest ever player when he made his debut at the age of 16 years, nine months and ten days in their 6-1 win over Spezia on the opening day of the season. The 18-year-old, who was eligible to play for Mexico and Spain, received his first-ever call up to Argentina's senior team in March 2022 Photo: Marco Rosi - SS Lazio/Getty Images
22. Sávio - Troyes (on loan at PSV)
Sávio was snapped up by the City Football Group in June. The 18-year-old completed a €6.5m to French club Troyes from Brazilian outfit Atlético Mineiro. Savio joined PSV on loan a month later, but injury has restricted the forward to just six appearances for the Eredivisie club. Sávio also scored four goals for the Brazil under-15 team that won the 2019 South American U-15 Championship Photo: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
23. Gabriel Slonina - Chelsea
The only goalkeeper to appear in the top 50, Gabriel Slonina joined Chelsea from Chicago Fire in a deal worth £12m in August. The 18-year-old, who was also eligible to represent Poland, became the youngest ever goalkeeper to play for the United States senior team in January Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images
24. Vinicius Tobias - Shakhtar Donetsk (on loan at Real Madrid)
Vinicius Tobias joined Shakhtar Donetsk from Brazilian club Internacional in July 2021, but never played a competitive game for the Miners due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The 19-year-old joined Real Madrid on a season-long loan in April 2022. The Brazilian has not yet featured for Real, despite making 27 appearances for their B team, but the Spanish giants are expected to complete a €10m deal for the defender in the summer Photo: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images