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Will Leicester striker George Hirst get first team chance in 2022/23?

By Will Kennedy

George Hirst of Portsmouth (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images)
George Hirst of Portsmouth (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images) /
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George Hirst of Rotherham United and Liam Palmer of Sheffield Wednesday (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) /

Clearly disappointed with his season, Hirst found a new home in League One for the 2021/22 campaign with Portsmouth. Initially, Hirst struggled and only registered two goals in the first half of the season, but in 2022 where Hirst fully excelled, scoring 13 goals. By the end of the season Hirst’s confidence was sky-high and he netted 10 goals in his final 13 starts.

In total, the Sheffield-born striker scored 15 goals and created 3 assists in 40 appearances for Portsmouth. It was exactly the confidence boost that Hirst needed to reignite his career. Speaking to LCFC.com, Hirst was glowing about his time on the south-coast:

"“For me to go to Portsmouth and finish the season strongly and to score that many goals, it was brilliant, not only to prove to myself that I can do it, but to prove to everybody else and I’m good enough to score the goals. It was a real confidence booster. When you’re playing with that sort of confidence, it can only help your development even more.”"

After such a successful spell away, Hirst’s next target is to firmly establish himself at Leicester City. He has been given the perfect platform for this as Brendan Rodgers is set to include him in the first team training ahead of the upcoming pre-season friendlies.

Admiring him from afar, Rodgers was the man to give Hirst his first taste of Premier League football and has been impressed with Hirst’s recent development. Speaking to the press last season, Rodgers had this to say about the 23-year-old:

"“George has done great at Portsmouth and he’s someone I want to have a good look at over the course of pre-season. When I first came in, there was something in him. He’s 6ft 4ins, got a nice touch, he’s good in the air, he can run, he’s got decent speed. “I think him coming back in the summer, we get a good chance to see him having played for points and having had something to prove. I would hope and I’m pretty sure I’ll see a step up both mentally and tactically in the game from him.” Brendan Rodgers via LeicestershireLive"