After Leeds registered late interest in August, should Everton return for George Hirst in January?

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Everton and Leeds have both been linked with Sheffield Wednesday’s George Hirst in 2017.

As the son of former Sheffield Wednesday and England striker David Hirst, George Hirst was always going to attract interest – and a number of teams are interested in his signature.

Hirst, 18, has been coming up through the ranks with hometown club Wednesday, following in the footsteps of his father by turning out for the Owls, though emulating David’s record of 106 goals in 294 games would take some doing.

The teenager has played just twice for the Wednesday first team, but his record for England across various youth levels has really turned heads, having hit 15 goals in 24 caps.

In late August, The Mirror reported that Leicester City and Leeds United both wanted to push through £2million deals for Hirst, and whilst they couldn’t land him, they could return in January.

The renewed interest from both clubs could yet force other admirers into action, after the Liverpool Echo reported over the summer that Everton wanted to sign Hirst, and made an offer to land him.

Now, the Toffees may have to consider making a new bid in January, in order to fend off both Leicester and Leeds, or risk missing out on him entirely as Wednesday weigh up whether to try and keep the youngster or sell him on in January.

Everton have focused heavily on signing talented youngsters from Football League clubs since Steve Walsh’s appointment as director of football in 2016, having brought the likes of Dennis Adeniran (Fulham), Josh Bowler (QPR), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Sheffield United) and Ademola Lookman (Charlton Athletic) to Goodison Park.

That plan could continue with a new bid for Hirst, especially given that Everton need at least one more striker to compete with Calvert-Lewin, Oumar Niasse and Sandro Ramirez, with Hirst another young talent to develop.

Fans may want to see a more proven hitman arrive, but 6ft 3in Hirst has huge potential, and pipping other clubs to a long-term target would be a real success for the Toffees in 2018.