Mark Lawrenson praises Evan Ferguson's 'exceptional' performance as he ends his goal drought.

The 20-year-old recently broke his goal drought in the Premier League, scoring his first goal since November 2023. Lawrenson believes that more goals could be on the horizon for him if he continues to get regular playing time in Fabian Hurzeler's lineup.

“It is not unusual when a young player comes in, does extremely well one season, and then gets all sorts of niggles in the next season whenever he comes onto play,” he told FourFourTwo in association with Freebets.com. “When these young players come in, people rave about them. But let's judge him after year two and after year two, if he's still in the team and doing well, then he's going to be an outstanding player. Ferguson now needs to start some games. He's got all the ability and we just need to see what he can do.”

Praise also heaped on Danny Welbeck

Lawrenson praised the quality of attacking talent at Hurzeler’s disposal and been hugely impressed by Danny Welbeck’s progress, after the striker netted his sixth goal of the season against Wolves.

“He must be 84 by now! I don't know what he's on but I want some,” he added. “He's been brilliant because every time you look at him over the season you think he's going to get injured again.

“But he's as good as anybody at the moment. Joao Pedro is also an outstanding player. Brighton have obviously got a few players that are itching to get on and play. So, they're in a really good position.”

The former Seagulls defender explained that a top-10 finish should be the club’s minimum target this campaign, and says there is no reason why they cannot make a sustained challenge for European qualification year after year.

Get FourFourTwo Newsletter

The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

“Their aim should be at the very least to finish in the top 10,” he explained.

When quizzed if they can repeatedly challenge for European football, he replied: “I do. And the great thing for them is that they're getting rest while other teams up and around there, fighting with them, are already playing in Europe.

VIDEO Why Drawing With Liverpool Was Actually Huge For Arsenal

“It's really good for the manager. For most of the time, he can work with his players all week. Whereas teams regularly playing in midweek can't work that much on the stuff they want to do.

“And if you're a new manager, this is really helpful.”