WITH the next set of international games fast approaching, the makeup of the Scotland squad is all the talk.
Steve Clarke announced his squad recently for a Greece double header, and Ispwich striker George Hirst missed out as his paperwork to switch his allegiance from England hadn’t gone through yet, which it now has as per The Fifa Change of Associaton Platform.
SunSport exclusively revealed back in July that the player was on Clarke’s radar, and earlier this month the National Team boss watched him score against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup.
Well now the 26-year-old has scored again, and oddly enough it was once more against Forest who sit third in the English Premier League.
He also scored against Coventry in the FA Cup in February, making it three netted in just over a month.
Since joining The Tractor Boys in 2023 he’s notched a few goals and assists, but he missed a large chunk of their promotion 2023/24 season through injury and hasn’t featured quite as much since returning.
He’s been involved in 20 games, but suffered another knee injury putting him on the treatment table, and has only played more than 20 minutes of a game on four occasions.
Despite Ipswich struggling in 18th and looking set to go straight back down to the Championship, Hirst has caught the eye in his limited time from fans of both his club and his (new) country.
Taking to social media after he scored his second league goal of the season, one Scotland fan dubbed him a ‘Lyndon Dykes regen’.
Another pointed out with tongue-in-cheek the forward has ‘a goal every 13 minutes as a Scotsman’.
Ipswich fans are also sharing their love for Hirst at this time, with many calling for him to become their starting man to lead the line.
One called him a ‘breath of fresh air’ as it appears some are turning sour on the once-flying Liam Delap.
The striker moved from Manchester City in the summer for a reported £20million and has scored ten goals so far this season, only three of which coming in 2025.
One fan said: “No idea why Hirst doesn’t get to start because he can score goals,” while another added: “Hirst looks after the ball better than Delap there I’ve said it.”
With today’s 4-2 loss being their 18th defeat of the season, one supporter said: “Half these players don’t want to be here and it’s obvious.
“Enciso, [Philogene] and Delap just here to try prove they can play in the prem and get a bigger move. Broadhead and Hirst only players today who wanted to play for the badge.”
And finally, someone commented: “It’s a damn shame that Delap has to play for the rest of the season not to hurt his price tag for the so called big clubs. For me, Hirst is 10 times the player!”
There is still some time until the national side compete in the Nations League again, but with Clarke’s squad full it would take change through injury, for example, for the newly-declared and highly thought of Hirst to join up.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
