George Hirst can't wait to impress at Leicester City after Brendan Rodgers' pre-season vow

George Hirst is hoping to show Brendan Rodgers the “best version” of himself after the Leicester City manager said he wanted to take a closer look at the striker in pre-season.

Hirst will be involved with City’s first team when they reconvene at Seagrave for the start of training on June 27. And he will be on a high, the 24-year-old admitting he didn’t want the season to end after scoring 10 goals in his final 13 starts on loan at Portsmouth in League One last season.

Keeping a close eye on Hirst’s progress, Rodgers said before City broke up that he wants to have a “good look” at the striker over pre-season, and that he is expecting to see “a step up both mentally and tactically” from him. Hirst himself is in a confident mood to do just that.

While his first senior spell in England at Rotherham ended without a goal, he found his feet with Pompey and is now looking up. He told City: “I’m forever grateful to them (Portsmouth) for the opportunity to go and pull their shirt on and play in front of the local fans every week because they were brilliant with me.

“Having 20,000 at Fratton Park has just made me so hungry for more of it. From start to finish, they gave me all their support. When they are on your side, there’s no better feeling.

“It was almost like the break came at a bad time for me really. If the season had carried on from now until Christmas, then I would have been pretty happy.

“Now it’s just about keeping fit and getting back to Leicester, seeing what happens in the summer and trying to show the best version of myself when I go back. It’s been a good off-season so far. I’ve done my running and enjoyed some time off. It’s crazy for a footballer during the season, but I can’t wait to get back at it now, get