Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi says Evan Ferguson can become a 'great' striker

Brighton and Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi says Evan Ferguson has all the qualities to become a great striker after the teenager struck his second Premier League goal in two games on Tuesday night.

The 18-year-old Irishman was a major influence as the Seagulls stormed to a brilliant 4-1 at Goodison Park, firing home the second goal and having a hand in Solly March's third.

Ferguson, who came off the bench on New Year's Eve to grab a goal in the 4-2 loss to Arsenal, has now very much announced himself on the big stage, with De Zerbi backing him to go from strength to strength.

"I'm happy for Evan, he played a fantastic game," he told the club website.

"He has big potential and I think he can help us in the second part of the season. With Danny Welbeck, he can be very important as our strikers. Evan could become a great striker because he has all the qualities, both physical and technical.

"It was a mature performance by Evan."

Former Bray Wanderers midfielder Andrew Moran was introduced as a substitute to make his Premier League debut on what was a very good night all round from an Irish perspective.

Brighton have a string record of producing good young talent, and De Zerbi is keen to keep the conveyor belt rolling.

"My job is to give him and the other young players the possibility to play," he added.

"[Jeremy] Sarmiento played a good game too and I want to progress with young players.

"In the first half I didn't like the quality of our play in defensive spaces, but I can understand this, every Premier League game is difficult.

"But we asked more of ourselves and the second half was amazing, there was a different quality to our play - we played well. We played with more energy and scored more goals, I am only sad because of