Can Leicester City solve their striker problem this transfer window?
By Matt Taylor
George Hirst
Leicester’s Belgian affiliate OH Leuven, also owned by King Power, snapped up the son of Sheffield Wednesday legend David Hirst in June 2018 after his contract expired with the Owls.
At the time, the move had its fair share of outspoken critics due to City’s direct link with the Belgian side, who viewed it as a shrewd way for Leicester to eventually sign Hirst at a reduced cost. Regardless of how the 19-year-old arrives at the King Power Stadium, he could be a useful prospect for Claude Puel.
Due to both his age and experience, Hirst is certainly the wildcard of this trio. However, his international record at youth level is nothing short of superb. The young man already boasts a hat-trick for both England U19’s and U20’s, the latter of which was in the same game that Harvey Barnes score a brace. Maybe the pair could link up again.
This breadth of youth international experience gives Hirst the edge on existing academy prospects such as Admiral Muskwe and Raul Uche, while his height (6 ft 2) could prove useful for Leicester.
Unlike Austin, Hirst’s youth is far more suiting to Puel’s emphasis on developing a new generation of talent. There is ample opportunity to mould the young lad, who can benefit from the abundance of experience at City. I’m sure that Jamie Vardy could teach him a thing or two.
The ex-Sheffield Wednesday youngster can also draw from the multiple England internationals who have broken through at Leicester this season. This surge of talent coming through the ranks can be attributed to Puel, who has a very good track record when transitioning youth internationals into top performers in the Premier League (See Ben Chilwell and Hamza Choudhury for reference).
Overall, despite not setting the world alight at Leuven, having only scored two goals this season, Hirst could prove a solid addition to the Foxes. He possesses the potential to be moulded into the target man that City desperately need. The transfer would be risk-free, but offers no guarantee of an immediate impact.