Roma signing Ferguson: I'm ready for Lazio; De Zerbi wanted me at Marseille

Roma signing Ferguson: I'm ready for Lazio; De Zerbi wanted me at Marseille

Evan Ferguson says he's ready for Roma and the derby against Lazio.

The Brighton striker has joined Roma on-loan with an option to buy.

He told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "Since I've been here, everyone has told me to be ready for Lazio. I want to play there, 100%.

"In England, compared to Shearer, Murray, and Kane? There's a lot of talk," he continued. "These are things I can't control: I try not to think about them and just do my job well. Like the story of Chelsea and Tottenham being ready to spend a hundred million pounds to sign me.

"The valuations don't depend on us, I don't think about it. I don't even know if it's true. And I don't ask myself."

Asked about his former Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi, now in charge of Marseille, Ferguson continued: "De Zerbi? He was very nice, but in football, things change quickly. I want to be one of the best, play well and score goals, helping the team.

"The coach sent me a message in January, wanting to bring me to Marseille. Now I'm happy to be here. A centre forward I look up to? I try to keep an eye on the best: Kane, Suarez, Ibrahimovic, and Lewandowski...

"Italian coaches? Many say it's a defensive school, and I thought so too: then I met De Zerbi and now (Roma coach Gian Piero) Gasperini, and then I realized that's not the case."