Pompey boss reckons City will see progress made by Hirst

LEICESTER City will see the progress George Hirst has made when they run the rule over the striker in pre-season, his loan boss Danny Cowley has said.

City manager Brendan Rodgers wants to bring Hirst back into the first-team fold this summer to take a closer look at a player who finished last season with a flourish, scoring 10 goals in his final 13 starts for a total tally of 15 on loan at Portsmouth.

Rodgers knows that Hirst, right, offers something different for his side, the striker standing at 6ft 4in, and hopes to see “a step up both mentally and tactically” from the 23-year-old.

Pompey manager Cowley says City will get just that.

The hope at Fratton Park is that they will be able to take Hirst back to the south coast, but Cowley knows City want to see how the striker fares in their line-up before Rodgers makes a call over his future.

Cowley told the Portsmouth News: “We’d love to have George back.

“We’re really respectful of Leicester and know he goes back and will train there in pre-season.

“They will rightly get a good look at him and hopefully see the progress he made.

“I know that they are pleased with the way we looked after him and the work we did with him, so that gives us satisfaction that clubs know their players will be looked after here. “We’d love to have him back but ultimately that will be a decision made firstly by Leicester City and then George and his representatives. The way he developed in our environment last season, he takes a lot of credit for that.

“I was so proud of the resilience he showed and how hard he worked.

“From a coaching perspective, to see young players work really hard and get their reward is pleasing.”

Hirst has said he wants to show off the “best version” of himself during pre-season training and friendlies, and it seems Rodgers will be open to giving him plenty of chances.

Hirst was given his first senior outings by City in the final two games of the 2019-20 season, and Rodgers believes his spells away have allowed him to

develop.

The City boss said last month: “George has done great at Portsmouth and he’s someone I want to have a good look at over the course of pre-season.

“He’s 6ft 4in, got a nice touch, he’s good in the air, he can run, he’s got decent speed.

“I felt he needed experience. He’s gone out and didn’t quite get the experience at Rotherham but at Portsmouth gradually he’s improved and developed.

“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.”