Portsmouth rivals Stoke and Preston North End 'plotting moves' for £9m-rated former Fratton favourite
Former Pompey loanee George Hirst is wanted by two clubs who finished in and around the Blues in last season’s Champioship table
Former Fratton Park loanee George Hirst has two of Pompey’s Championship rivals currently battling it out for his signature.
The 27-year-old, who bagged 15 goals for the Blues while on loan from Leicester in 2021-22, has dropped down the pecking order at Ipswich Town over the summer.
New boss Gary O’Neil has reinforced the Tractor Boys’ forward department ahead of their return to the Premier League with the acquisitions of Toulouse forward Emersonn for £26.5m and £10m Celtic favourite Daizen Maeda.
Their arrivals will limit the Scotland international’s game time at Portman Road this season, with the striker netting 11 goals last term as Ipswich finished runners-up to Coventry in the Championship standings.
That has opened up the possibility of a move away from Town, where the £9m-rated frontman is under contract until 2029.
And according to the Scottish Sun, both Stoke City and Preston North End are plotting ambitious moves to lure Hirst to their ranks ahead of their latest campaigns.
Stoke and Preston North End keen to improve on disappointing 2025-26 seasons
Both Stoke and PNE ended up having disappointing 2025-26 Championship seasons, despite occupying promotion places over the first half of the campaign.
Indeed, the Potters finished 17th on 55 points, bettering 18th-placed Pompey on goal difference only. Meanwhile, North End were only five points better off as they claimed 14th place in the standings.
Keen to improve on that, Stoke have provided manager Mark Robins with the cash to put together a more concerted promotion push.
His summer spending spree started with a £10m move for Swansea midfielder Ethan Galbraith, and was quickly followed by the £5m signing of Go Ahead Eagles striker Milan Smit and the £3.8m purchase of midfielder Djibril Soumare from Braga.
£1m was also spent on Pompey target Svante Ingelsson from Sheffield Wednesday, with ex-Blues keeper Josh Griffiths arriving on a £600,000 deal from West Brom.
Preston have added only three players to their ranks this summer to date, namely keeper Lee Nichols (undisclosed), forward Jusef Erabi (loan) and attacking midfielder Alfie Devine. However, the latter cost a club-record £6m figure as his loan move from Spurs was made permanent.
It’s understood that a loan or permanent move for Hirst would interest both. Although, it’s believed Ipswich would prefer a loan arrangement at this stage.
Pompey were keen to get Hirst back following the end of his loan in 2021-22, but Hirst opted for a move to Blackburn Rovers instead.
Since moving to Ipswich, initially on loan in January 2023, the striker has netted 30 goals in 121 appearances.
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