Leicester City striker to get first-team chance after impressing Brendan Rodgers on loan

George Hirst will be given an opportunity to stake a claim for a place in next season’s Leicester City squad after impressing Brendan Rodgers with his development at Portsmouth.

The striker will feature for City in pre-season, Rodgers has said, after making leaps over the second half of his loan spell at Pompey. He was the club’s top scorer with 15 goals in all competitions as they finished in the top half in League One.

Hirst, 23, made his senior City debut in the summer of 2020 at the end of Rodgers’ first full season in charge. He then went on loan to Rotherham in the Championship, a spell in which he was in and out of the team and failed to find the net.

With Hirst having found his finishing touch at senior level on the south coast, Rodgers has said he wants a closer look at him in pre-season. The striker is among a number of City loanees whose seasons have now finished, with some back in at Seagrave, Rodgers revealing that he held a discussion with goalkeeper Daniel Iversen on Tuesday after the Dane was named player of the season at Preston in the Championship.

“Some are them starting to drip-feed back in,” Rodgers said on his loanees. “I had a long chat with Daniel Iversen today. Daniel has done great at Preston and won a lot of player of the season awards there. He’s had a great season.

“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 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