Arsenal are said to have frequently scouted the Sheffield Wednesday youngster in recent months.
Arsenal head the queue of clubs chasing Sheffield Wednesday striker George Hirst, according to the Sunday People (05/02 page 48).
The report claims that while ‘almost every big club’ is monitoring the 17-year-old’s progress, the Gunners are particularly keen – having watched him consistently over the past few months.
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Hirst, whose father David scored 128 goals in 358 games for Wednesday, grew up supporting the Owls and said last year that there is nowhere else he would rather be than Hillsborough.
David Hirst celebrates scoring against Arsenal in the 1993 FA Cup final
That said, interest from Arsenal has the potential to turn most players’ heads, and the Championship side could face a battle to hang on to the England youth international, who celebrates his 18th birthday next week.
Wednesday have taken a cautious approach to Hirst’s development, supplying him with a mere 41 minutes of first team football so far.
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However, it is the teenager’s outstanding form for the Owls’ development sides – not to mention his country – which has caught the eye of Arsenal.
Former Leeds United manager Brian McDermott
Gunners scout Brian McDermott has been a regular at Wednesday’s Middlewood Road training base this season, and is said to have spotted Cohen Bramall – the Premier League giants’ only January recruit – while the left-back was on trial with the Owls.
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