Early life A native of
Bettystown,
County Meath, a village south of
Drogheda, Ferguson is the son of former professional footballer
Barry Ferguson who played for
Coventry City,
Colchester United,
Hartlepool United,
Northampton Town,
Longford Town,
Bohemians,
Shamrock Rovers and
Sporting Fingal during his playing career. His mother is English. He grew up supporting both
Manchester United and
Celtic. He attended
Coláiste na hInse growing up. Ferguson began playing with the prestigious
Dublin schoolboy club
St Kevin's Boys aged four, before moving on to the youth section of
League of Ireland club
Bohemians, where he would play in the National Underage Leagues. In December 2020, he scored in his last game at underage level for the club as his side won the
League of Ireland U17 Division, beating rivals
Shamrock Rovers 2–0 in the final.
Bohemians Ferguson made his debut in senior football on 11 July 2019: a 1–1 draw with
Chelsea in a friendly at
Dalymount Park, aged just 14 at the time which made him the club's youngest ever player at senior level. His competitive debut in senior football came on 20 September 2019, replacing
Luke Wade-Slater late on against
Derry City at the
Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium. Ferguson's first goals at senior level came on 28 January 2020, scoring two goals in a 4–2 pre-season friendly win over
Drogheda United. He would go on to make four competitive appearances in total over his two seasons at the club.
Brighton & Hove Albion 2021–22 season In January 2021, he signed for the
academy of
Brighton & Hove Albion, who beat fellow
Premier League club
Liverpool to his signature. On 24 August 2021, he made his first team debut, replacing
Enock Mwepu, in the 81st minute of a 2–0 win away against
Championship side
Cardiff City in the
EFL Cup second round. On 6 September, he was nominated for the
Premier League 2 Player of the Month award for August. He scored his first ever professional goal, scoring
Brighton under-23s equaliser in an eventual 2–1 away win at
League Two side
Northampton in the
EFL Trophy on 2 November. He won his club's goal of the month competition for November 2021 for his goal against
Everton U23s at
Goodison Park. Ferguson's first involvement in a matchday squad in the Premier League came on 15 December 2021, when he was an unused substitute in the home defeat against
Wolverhampton Wanderers. Ferguson made a second appearance of the season for the senior side on 8 January 2022, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute where he assisted
Jakub Moder's equaliser in the eventual 2–1 – after extra-time – away victory over
West Bromwich Albion of the Championship in the
FA Cup third round. Four weeks later, Ferguson made another substitute appearance again coming in the FA Cup, this time away at
Tottenham Hotspur on 5 February, in a 3–1 defeat for the Seagulls. On 19 February 2022, Ferguson made his Premier League debut for Brighton, coming on as a substitute in the 3–0 home loss against bottom side
Burnley.
2022–23 season On 24 August 2022, Ferguson scored his first
Albion goal, set up by fellow academy player
Cameron Peupion, in the 90+4th minute of the 3–0 away win over
League One side
Forest Green Rovers in the
EFL Cup second round. On 19 October 2022, on his 18th birthday, Ferguson signed his first long-term professional contract at Brighton, keeping him at the club until 2026. On 31 December, in the 4–2 home loss against
Arsenal, he made his third Premier League appearance from the bench for Brighton where he scored his first career league goal. At 18 years old he became both Ireland and Brighton's youngest ever Premier League goalscorer. Three days later on 3 January 2023, Ferguson started his first Premier League match, scoring again in the 4–1 away victory over
Everton. On 25 April, Ferguson committed his future to Brighton after signing a long-term contract until 2028. After a successful breakthrough season scoring 10 goals in 25 appearances Ferguson went on to win Brighton's Young Player of the Season at the end of season awards.
2023–24 season Ferguson opened his goal account for the
2023–24 season in the opening game on 12 August, after coming on as a substitute he netted a 95th minute effort to seal a 4–1 home win over Premier League newcomers
Luton Town. On 2 September, Ferguson scored his first club career
hat-trick against
Newcastle United in a 3–1 home league win. Hence, he became the fourth player to achieve this feat at 18 years old, following
Michael Owen,
Robbie Fowler and
Chris Bart-Williams. He also joined
Cesc Fàbregas as the only two non-English players to reach 10 Premier League goal involvements while aged eighteen and under. On 29 October 2023, Ferguson scored his 11th Premier League goal in the 26th minute of a 1–1 home draw against Fulham. The BBC reported that for his goal he had the space and composure to take a touch and calmly stroke the ball low past Fulham keeper
Bernd Leno for the opening goal. On 10 November, he extended his contract until 2029. Ferguson brought his season tally to six against Nottingham Forest on 25 November, when he scored in the 26th minute from a
Pascal Groß pass to make it 1–1, in a game that Brighton eventually won 3–2. Ferguson injured his ankle and had ligament surgery on the joint which ruled him out for the next six months.
2024–25 season After appearing for Ireland in early September 2024, Ferguson made his return to club football in Brighton's home goalless draw against
Ipswich Town on 14 September. He scored his first Brighton goal of 2024 in a 2–2 draw against
Wolverhampton Wanderers on 26 October.
West Ham United (loan) On 3 February 2025, Ferguson signed for fellow
Premier League club
West Ham United on loan until the end of the season, rejoining his former coach
Graham Potter. He made his debut for
The Hammers on 15 February 2025, as a half-time substitute in a 1–0 home defeat to
Brentford. He made just eight appearances during what was a disappointing loan spell, with Ferguson failing to score during his time with the club.
Roma (loan) On 23 July 2025, Ferguson joined
Serie A side
Roma on loan with an option to purchase for a reported transfer fee of €40m. Ferguson made his competitive debut for the club during their first match in the Serie A against
Bologna. He started for Roma and played 74 minutes in the game. On matchday 2, in an away game to
Pisa, he assisted
Matias Soulé to gain his first goal involvement for Roma with the match finishing 1–0 in Roma's favour. On 23 November Ferguson got his first goal for Roma in a 3–1 win away against
Cremonese, it was the first goal Ferguson had scored in club football in 13 months and he was the first Irishman to score in Serie A since
Liam Brady. On 11 March 2026, he confirmed that he had undergone successful surgery to his ankle. This ruled him out for the rest of the season. ==International career==