Ex-Sunderland target Evan Ferguson joins Roma on loan with £34.7m option after tough West Ham spell...

Brighton striker Evan Ferguson has completed a move to Serie A side Roma on a season-long loan – just 18 months after being strongly linked with Sunderland during the January 2024 transfer window.

The Italian giants also hold an option to make the move permanent next summer for a fee understood to be around £34.7million. Ferguson, 20, had been touted as a target for Sunderland while they were in the Championship, with the Wearsiders thought to be admirers of the powerful Irish forward. However, the youngster instead stayed on the south coast before joining West Ham on loan in the second half of last season.

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The Republic of Ireland international now heads to Italy in search of regular minutes and the chance to reboot his promising career. Ferguson is expected to provide competition for former Torino striker Andrea Belotti at Roma, with the move representing a fresh chapter in one of Europe’s most prestigious leagues. During his career so far, Ferguson has made 80 appearances for Brighton, scoring 17 goals, but a series of injuries halted his progress and left him searching for a fresh start.

Brighton head coach Fabian Hürzeler explained the reasoning behind the move, stating: “Evan had a challenging period across the past season and a half, and it has been one disrupted by niggling injury issues, which hasn’t allowed him a run of games.

“He is over those injuries and has come back in great shape. Now he really wants to play regularly. This is an exciting opportunity in a strong league and with the prospect of European football. We wish Evan well for the season ahead and will be watching his progress closely throughout the season.”

What other Sunderland-related news is there?

Sunderland head coach Régis Le Bris spoke to The Echo after the 1-0 defeat to Sporting Lisbon at Estadio Algarve on Monday night. He reflected on an encouraging performance despite the result and gave an update on the club’s transfer plans, as well as confirming the current injury situation at the club.

“Yeah, absolutely. This game was interesting at this moment of pre-season because we faced a mature, experienced team with strong references together. They are ready to play, they have the Super Cup in a week so they are ready for competition,” Le Bris said after the game.

“We faced this structure with good players inside and threats in behind. I think for the goal we conceded, it's important to make this mistake now so that we can fix the problem. We had this problem last season with the switch between man-for-man and zonal defence, so the mistake is necessary to fix this problem.

“I think in possession, our references were positive, we created many chances. It means that we have the ability to build up play, to be strong and progress through the pitch, and now the last question will be the clinical ability. We know this is going to be very important in the Premier League.”

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