ALAN SHEARER jokingly said his description of Brighton wonderkid Evan Ferguson makes him "sound like a w***er".
The Premier League's all-time top goal scorer revealed his high hopes for the 18-year-old and how he sees his younger self in him.
Ferguson has emerged as one of the brightest talents in football, scoring four goals in four games for the Seagulls.
He made the headlines after Brighton's 3-1 victory against Newcastle for becoming the fourth 18-year-old to score a hat trick in the Premier League.
The Irish international follows in the footsteps of legends Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and Chris Bart-Williams.
Shearer is among those impressed by Ferguson's breakthrough and sees his style of play in the striker.
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The Newcastle icon wrote in The Athletic: "I’m not sure how to write this next bit without sounding like a w***r.
"But as I watched Ferguson against Newcastle, I caught myself thinking, ‘Yeah, I recognise that’ or, ‘Hmm, I may have seen some of that before’.
"I don’t know whether it was his exuberance or confidence, the touch of arrogance, but that little strut, the way he handled himself, was very reminiscent of how I felt at that age.
"Goals were my drug and we share the addiction."
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Ferguson made his senior debut as a 14-year-old, coming on for Irish side Bohemians in a pre-season friendly with Chelsea in 2019.
The forward impressed against Frank Lampard's star-studded team and even set up the Bohemians' 89th-minute equaliser with a cheeky stepover.
This had the Brighton academy sweating to land the youngster after spotting his talent before that – but he joined them in 2021.
Shearer, who scored a hat-trick against Arsenal on his full debut for Southampton aged just 17 – believes the world is now Ferguson's oyster.
The Prem legend continued: "Steer clear of injuries on the pitch and knobheads off it and the world lies at those lethal feet of his. Yeah, I like what I see.
"What do I love about him? Everything."
His talent has not gone unnoticed by Premier League rivals as Manchester City are linked to snatching the striker next summer.
Even Gareth Southgate has reportedly tried to tempt the teenager to switch allegiance to join the Three Lions, according to the Metro.
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