Brighton starlet likened to Rooney when he burst onto the scene at Man United

The 18-year-old was only brought on in the 79th minute, but did enough to impress those watching Roberto De Zerbi's side dump further woe on the out-of-form Eagles.

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The young Irishman - who has made 23 appearances for the Seagulls this season as they push for the European spots in the Premier League - offered Brighton some fresh legs after replacing Danny Welbeck.

And as the Seagulls looked set to hold on to all three points thanks to Solly March's first-half strike, Ferguson caught the eye of the talkSPORT commentators in the press box at the AMEX.

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As the home side batted off pressure from the Eagles, talkSPORT's commentator for the game, Alex Crook, said: "I tell you what, Ferguson has looked good since coming on.

"He's got great awareness with his play. So strong, so powerful for someone so young.

"He's not dissimilar from Wayne Rooney when he burst on the scene. He looks like a seasoned professional in a teenager's body."

Ex-England star Alvin Martin continued: "He looks like an experienced player, that's the only way I can describe him. He looks like he's got a yard of pace in him as well."

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Rooney also burst on the footballing scene as a teenager for Everton and also playing way beyond his years as he frightened the life out of Premier League defenders.

Ferguson has had a similar experience, becoming both Ireland and Brighton's youngest ever Premier League goalscorer when he netted against league leaders Arsenal in December.

And despite not being able to add a goal to his performance on Wednesday, March's first half goal was all the home side needed.

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Crystal Palace had the better start to the game but never recovered from Brighton's opening strike - which was spookily scored by March in the 15th minute in a game played on March 15.

The away side were also lucky not to go down to ten men after Cheick Doucoure avoided a second yellow card for his challenges on Moises Caicedo and Joel Veltman.

Brighton's win takes them level on points with sixth-placed Liverpool, who got knocked out of the Champions League after a defeat to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.

Meanwhile Patrick Vieira's looks to be on thinner ice than ever before, with Palace's winless run in 2023 continuing on after another frustrating night in Sussex.

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The Eagles remain just three points off the relegation zone.