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John Egan on what marking Evan Ferguson is like in training

Ireland international defender John Egan explains what he's learned about Evan Ferguson by marking him in training.



Ireland international defender John Egan joined Nathan Murphy on The Football Show to discuss Evan Ferguson.

John Egan didn't start for Ireland against Latvia last night.

But he did have a pretty good view of Evan Ferguson. The Brighton striker made his debut for Stephen Kenny's side and scored his first goal for Ireland. He scored the second after Callum O'Dowda opened the scoring and Chiedozie Ogbene scored the third off the bench.

And while Egan made way for his younger teammates at the back in Andrew Omobamidele, Nathan Collins and Dara O'Shea, he will likely return on Monday to face France. Ferguson is expected to return in the starting lineup too.

So what does one of Ireland's most experienced players think about the team's new striker?

"Everyone sees what he's doing for Brighton," Egan said.

"It's fantastic but I don't really get the comparisons and things like that. He is himself. You know he's his own man and he's his own player. He's scoring goals at his club and he came in last night and scored his first goal for his country.

"You know his confidence is high, he's really hard-working and humble. Hopefully, he can keep improving, keep doing what he's doing at club and international level.

"The potential is there, so hopefully he can keep working hard and get the best out of himself."

As a centre back in the Ireland squad, Egan has the rare opportunity to mark Ferguson everyday in training.

"He's big. You know he's only 18 but he's built like a man. He's really good technically, he's quick, he's really hard to mark as a center half. So I'm happy he's playing for us and not the opposition, that's for sure. He's a big talent.

"There's no denying that he's a huge talent."

Roy Hodgson's return to Crystal Palace is deeply uninspiring.

 

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Evan Ferguson Ireland John Egan Stephen Kenny