Stoke aim to sign George Hirst and Ben Johnson before trip to Saints | OneFootball

Daily Echo reports that Stoke City are aiming to complete the double signing of Ipswich Town pair George Hirst and Ben Johnson before Saturday's trip to Saints, with Hirst heading to the Bet 365 Stadium for £10 million and Johnson joining on loan.

Both deals would need to be registered by tomorrow's midday deadline for either player to feature at St Mary's.

Hirst scored 11 Championship goals for Ipswich last season, when they finished runners-up to Coventry City and were promoted to the Premier League.

He was also part of Scotland's World Cup squad this summer.

Johnson, a right-back, moved to the Tractor Boys from West Ham United in 2024 and made 20 appearances in all competitions last term.

Stoke and Southampton are each seeking their first points of the new Championship season after 2-1 defeats on the opening weekend. The Potters lost at home to Swansea City, while Saints were beaten away at Watford.

Source: Daily Echo

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”