Stoke City are reported to be in advanced talks with Ipswich Town striker George Hirst. Hirst was top scorer as Ipswich won promotion to the Premier League last season but has slipped down the pecking order over the summer as new boss Gary O'Neil has splashed the cash on front players.

Stoke have been linked with Hirst over the last few weeks as they try to add Championship goals to Mark Robins's squad. The sanctioning of Milan Smit's loan exit to Darmstadt last week has made room in the squad which could be filled by the 6ft 3in Scotland international, aged 27.

Transfer specialist Pete O'Rourke now claims the Potters are "advancing in talks" over a permanent deal in hope it can be done in time for a trip to Southampton on Saturday. Hirst's dad David Hirst played for Southampton in the late 1990s.

Hirst scored 11 times as Ipswich went up in second place last season, including as a substitute against Stoke in a 3-3 draw in March. He made his breakthrough at Sheffield Wednesday and had loans at Rotherham - where he played alongside Viktor Johansson, Portsmouth and Blackburn - where he played alongside Sam Gallagher - after joining Leicester in 2019.

He signed a contract at Ipswich last summer that ties him to the club until 2029. But he was left out of the squad for a friendly against Union Berlin in Germany last weekend with reports in Suffolk about discussions about a departure. Clubs across the Championship, in Scotland and across Europe have also been linked with interest.