Brighton chief executive Paul Barber has joked it will be ‘at least five years’ before the Seagulls consider selling Evan Ferguson.
The 18-year-old striker burst onto the scene last season and earned himself a new five-year deal with the club last spring.
The Republic of Ireland international’s netted 11 league goals in 30 appearances for Brighton, attracting attention from and .
Ferguson, a boyhood United fan, is happy on the south coast as he feels it’s the best place for his development.
Spurs are now seeking a striker after their decision to sell Harry Kane to Bayern Munich, and the club have been linked with a move for the wonderkid.
Brighton have cashed in on the likes of Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister so far this summer, and Ferguson has been tipped to become the club’s next big money sale.
But Brighton Chief Executive Paul Barber says the club are in no rush to sell the Irishman and he joked it will be a long time before they do.
‘In Evan’s case, it’ll be in at least five years’ time!,’ Barber joked to TalkSPORT.
‘Ultimately the technical staff are making the key decisions on where a player is in his development, whether he needs more first team games or needs to go on loan or if we need to trade earlier or later.
‘Ultimately it’s going to be a collective decision but it’s driven by the technical staff and we’re relying on them to make those judgements regarding the players’ development.
‘There are times when it’s better for us to keep a player in and around our first team group, training with us and getting the odd first team appearance from the bench or in cup games, while on other occasions it’s better for them to go out on loan in Europe and others it’s better for them to stay in this country and be somewhere where we can keep a far closer eye on them.
‘For those decisions, Tony and I leave them to the technical staff and we only really get involved when we get to the financial decisions and where we go next.
‘It’s a combined effort, it’s a team effort and we’re as much of a team off the pitch as we are on it and Tony and I both believe that we’ve got to work collaboratively and effectively, but ultimately, Roberto De Zerbi is making the big calls when it comes to the playing squad.’
, .
,  and .
