Leicester City transfer news: 23-year-olds George Hirst and Khanya Leshabela face unclear futures after loan spells fail.
The futures of Leicester City duo George Hirst and Khanya Leshabela have been plunged into doubt.
The pair are on loan at Blackburn Rovers and Crewe Alexandra respectively but have each faced their struggles this season and their immediate futures are now uncertain.
Rovers are in talks to end George Hirst’s season-long loan early, though they have no break clause so it would be down to Leicester City to recall the 23-year-old. That’s according to the Lancashire Telegraph, which says the move would require the agreement of all parties and would cancel the purchase option.
READ MORE: Leicester City v Fulham live: Team news and match updates
READ MORE: ‘Mojo’ – Pundits make identical Leicester City prediction for Fulham clash
Hirst has struggled in the Championship this season, making just two league starts and failing to score for his loan club. The next step could be for him to return to Leicester City and be loaned out elsewhere, perhaps to League One where he had success with Portsmouth in 2021-22.
Meanwhile, midfielder Khanya Leshabela returned from his loan spell at Crewe Alexandra earlier than expected. This season, the 23-year-old has made just ten appearances in League Two and has struggled to establish himself as a regular starter.
“Khanya went back a little early, we thought that was best for him,” Crewe boss Lee Bell explained. He wasn’t receiving any playing time. He is a fantastic young man, and it just seemed to be coming on top of him a little bit, so we wanted to give him that extra time to analyze his alternatives since he should be playing football at his age.”
It is unclear what Hirst and Leshabela’s immediate future holds, but they will both be seeking new loan teams this month and may perhaps be set to go permanently.
