Leicester City have confirmed the capture of ex-Sheffield Wednesday starlet George Hirst from Belgian sister club OH Leuven. The 20-year-old forward, who left Hillsborough in controversial circumstances last June, has represented England at every youth level from Under-17 to Under-20 and finished as joint-top scorer at the 2017 Under-20 Toulon Tournament.
His move to Leicester ends a protracted transfer saga that saw the youngster make the move to the Belgian second division club after it was revealed the Foxes would have to pay a tribunal-agreed compensation fee to sign Hirst, who was under the age of 23.
OH Leuven’s status as an overseas club bypassed those regulations and ensured that any compensation was paid on a fixed tariff decreed by Fifa. Former Foxes boss Nigel Pearson, who played alongside Hirst’s father, David, for the Owls for most of his career, was in charge of Leuven at the time, although he was subsequently sacked in February. Hirst made a solitary competitive appearance for Sheffield Wednesday.
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