Scotland striker lined up for transfer to English Championship club a month after returning from World Cup

STOKE are plotting an ambitious move for Ipswich and Scotland striker George Hirst. The 27-year-old went to the World Cup with Scotland after piling in 11 goals to help fire Ipswich back to the Premier League last season. George Hirst in action for Scotland Credit: PA George Hirst and team-mate Leif Davis helped Ipswich to Premier League promotion Credit: PA But his game time is likely to be limited if he stays at Portman Road. The Tractor Boys have brought in extra firepower up top with the £26.5million signing of Emersonn from Toulouse and the £10m arrival of Daizen Maeda from Celtic. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! And they are expected to sign another striker before the end of the window. So Ipswich bosses will not stand in Hirst’s way if the right opportunity to secure regular football – either via a loan or permanent exit – crops up. SunSport understands that Stoke have identified Hirst as a target to bolster their forward line. The Potters are desperate to sign a physical centre-forward and have seen three bids rejected for Sarpsborg giant Daniel Karlsbakk. Hirst, who stands 6ft 3ins, is also on their wish list but the two clubs are yet to enter into formal negotiations over the structure and cost of a deal. Sheffield-born Hirst made his senior debut for Sheffield Wednesday before moving to Belgian side OH Leuven, and then onto Leicester the following year. Most read in Football OUR BEST FREE BETS & SIGN-UP OFFERS Loan spells at Rotherham, Portsmouth and Blackburn followed before Hirst joined Ipswich in 2023. He has scored 23 goals in 102 games for the Tractor Boys, as well as one in 10 for Scotland. Hirst started in the 4-1 World Cup warm-up win over Curacao then came on as a sub in the 4-0 friendly win against Bolivia but didn’t get on the pitch as Steve Clarke’s Scotland crashed out at the group stages. Ipswich were thrown when long-serving boss Kieran McKenna stepped down after leading them to promotion. But new manager Gary O’Neil was appointed in June and will have had two months to prepare for the new campaign by the time it gets underway. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page Comment now