George Hirst explains why he left Leicester City to join Ipswich Town | OneFootball

Ipswich Town have completed the signing of striker George Hirst from Leicester City.

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The 24-year-old originally came through the ranks at Sheffield Wednesday, but at 19 years old, he left the Owls to join Belgian side OH Leuven.

He only stayed at the club for a season, making 22 appearances in Belgium, scoring three goals and registering five assists.

Hirst made a return to England in 2019 when he signed for Leicester and spent the first season at the club in their development squad.

In the 2020/21 campaign, he joined Rotherham United on loan, with the following campaign seeing him join Portsmouth for another temporary spell away from the King Power stadium.

Then, during last season just gone, Hirst was sent to Blackburn Rovers, where he played 11 times without scoring before he was recalled and instead sent to Ipswich.

His performances improved dramatically at Portman Road, where he scored seven goals and provided two assists in 23 games, helping guide them to a second-place finish and return to the Championship.

The Tractor Boys have returned to the second tier after a four-year absence, securing an automatic promotion spot having never reached the play-offs in their three previous seasons at League One level.

Since then, Ipswich have begun work on improving their squad for the upcoming season in the league above, signing three players in the form of Jack Taylor (Peterborough United), Henry Gray (Waterside Karori), and Cieran Slicker (Manchester City).

Hirst became signing number four in making a permanent return to Ipswich, signing on a four-year deal to reunite with Kieran McKenna for a reported fee of around £1.5 million.

Hirst is the son of former Barnsley, Sheffield Wednesday,