Leo Ferdinand s 18-year-old eldest son signed with the Premier League, challenging high levels to open a new chapter in his career!

Lorentz Ferdinand, the eldest son of Manchester United legendary defender Leo Ferdinand, officially signed his first professional contract with Premier League club Brighton and officially entered the field of professional football.

Leo is 46 years old and is one of the greatest defenders in England's history. He has six Premier League championships and one Champions League champions in his career, leaving a deep mark on English football. Now, his 18-year-old son Lorenz has also entered the top league and embarked on his journey of independence.

🔹 Career starting point: Signing a professional contract with Brighton

In 2025, 18-year-old Lorenz reached a professional contract with Brighton Club in the Premier League as a goalkeeper, mainly playing in the U21 echelon, and will continue to develop in the club.

Brighton youth training director Ian Beckman welcomed the 13 youth training echelon players who signed professional contracts, saying that they "have had the experience of U21 and some teams" and looked forward to their continued growth in the future.

🔹 Youth Training and debut: From U13 to U21, gradually advance to

Lorenz started from the Brighton U13 echelon and gradually advanced to U18, and officially completed his Premier League 2 debut in January this year. He currently plays 20 times in the U18 level of this team (including league cup, etc.), with a number of minutes of playing 1,800+ minutes.

🔹 Decentralized "work experience": Cumulative practical experience in playing in the Seventh Division

In March 2025, Lorenz loaned from Brighton to the Southern League Premier Division South (Southern League Premier Division South, Level 7) team Havant & Waterlooville for two months. During the period, he played 6 times, maintained two clean sheets, and helped the team maintain an unbeaten record. His debut was a 3-1 victory against Marlow, who played consistently in the game and won.

🔹 The family has great support, and the publicity and professional team are with the same team as the professional team. Lorenz signed a contract with management company New Era Global Sports in 2023, with Leo himself serving as his ambassador and mentor to help his career. Leo once wrote on IG:

"Our eldest son embarked on his own football journey... It is a long road full of ups and downs, and needs professional support, so @neweraglobalsports appears. Love you, Lorenz."

🔹 Media evaluation and future prospects

The media generally believes that Brighton has always been good at cultivating young goalkeepers, and Lorenz will gain more systematic growth when joining U21. Ian Beckman also emphasized their anticipated development potential, with the goal of delivering solid reserves for the first team.