'He wants to come back': Portsmouth skipper challenges Blues to reach Leicester City agreement after top-scorer George Hirst's Sheffield Wednesday showing

The Leicester City loanee netted his 15th goal of the season as the curtain fell on the Blues’ campaign with a 4-1 loss at Sheffield Wednesday.

Hirst will now return to parent club Leicester City, where he is under contract for another 12 months, yet moves to bring him back are under way, realistically for another loan.

Certainly Robertson is keen for a third successive campaign as the striker’s team-mate, having played alongside each other at Rotherham last season and now Fratton Park.

According to the Blues’ skipper, a blossoming Hirst is unrecognisable from his Millers days – and is desperate for him to be back for 2022-23.

Robertson told The News: ‘George wants to come back – and I hope he does, he’s a good player.

‘I was at Rotherham with him last season and he never had a proper chance. He was coming on in games for the last 10-15 minutes and that’s always difficult to do as a striker.

‘You are expected to influence games in that short time, but at Rotherham we were also chasing games and scrapping for points, so that’s not easy.

‘There was a different feel for him here since he got into the team and it’s just confidence. I look at him now and he is 100 per cent different. George has grown in confidence, he looks a different player.

‘Since he came into the team against Crystal Palace in November and got the winner, he has kicked on and been outstanding.

‘The following match at Wycombe he started as well. I was injured and, watching on iFollow, he looked a different player from that point, running past players. He finished the second half of the season well.

‘I hope George comes back here, he’s a good player, he feels loved by the fans – we’ll see what happens in the summer and see if he comes back.

‘He’s had a good second half of the season and will be looking to kick on against next season, hopefully with us.’

Former Owl Hirst’s 15-goal haul came from 46 appearances, establishing him as the Blues’ top scorer.

Yet last term he failed to net in 31 league outings during a loan spell at Rotherham, of which four were Championship starts.

Robertson added: ‘He obviously wanted to go back to Sheffield Wednesday and prove a point after what happened.

‘He got his goal early on and I was delighted for him, and had another chance in the second half which he felt he should have done better with.

‘That’s what a run of games in football does for you, you start to grow in confidence, and when you go onto the pitch don’t even think about doing stuff, it just comes naturally.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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