Evan Ferguson in new West Ham disappointment as ‘big player’ claim made
Evan Ferguson has struggled to hit the ground running at West Ham United despite his reunion with Graham Potter raising high hopes.
West Ham hoped Ferguson would fix their goalscoring problems when they roped in on loan until the end of the season from Brighton in the winter transfer window.
However, the transfer has not quite worked as the Ireland international is yet to start a game for the East London outfit, with all his five appearances coming off the bench.
Ferguson made his Brighton debut under Potter, but is unlikely to have any sort of generosity from the English tactician at the London Stadium as West Ham are already deemed improbable to make an effort to make his loan move permanent.
Mark Lawrenson admits Ferguson disappointment
Ferguson is one of the most exciting talents in the Ireland national team and Mark Lawrenson is disappointed to see him struggle at West Ham.
The Liverpool legend admitted that the striker has not been playing enough for the Irons as he tries to shake off the ‘second-season syndrome’ he suffered at Brighton.
| Matches | Starts | Minutes | Goals & Assists | Shots Per Game | Pass Accuracy |
| 5 | 0 | 92′ | 0 | 0.8 | 78.3% |
However, he also said that Ferguson would still become a ‘big player’ for Ireland before tipping Potter to show him some love to help him get back on track.
“I still believe Ferguson will be a big player for us [Ireland] over the next few years”, Lawrenson told Sunday World‘s online edition (23 March).
“He is struggling with that second-season syndrome after his breakthrough with Brighton and we have to hope this loan move to West Ham can get him going again.
“We all hoped he would have played more games than he has done at West Ham so far, but he might need a little bit of loving to get him back on track and he should get that with Graham Potter.”
Ferguson can forget West Ham stint
Having bagged just one goal for Brighton this season, Ferguson will be hopeful of regaining his form at West Ham between now and the end of the season.
However, that is looking unlikely as things stand as Potter has seemingly already made up his mind about the Irishman.
The Hammers have no plans to make Ferguson’s loan move permanent, meaning Potter is unlikely to go out of his way to help him regain his form and get back on track.
That means he will have to continue settling for cameos off the bench until he returns to Brighton at the end of the season unless there is a twist in the tale.