Stoke City have signed striker George Hirst from Ipswich Town for an undisclosed fee on a contract until at least the end of the 2028-29 season.
The Scotland international, 27, has spent the last three seasons at Ipswich, where he won two promotions and scored 23 times in 102 games after joining from Leicester City. Eleven of his 21 league goals came last season as Ipswich secured automatic promotion to the Premier League.
Hirst has signed a three-year contract at the bet365 Stadium with a further 12-month option in the club's favour. Reports had linked him with a move to Stoke for several days, with a £10m fee suggested.
Career background
The striker's previous season in the Premier League was hampered by a knee injury. He has also had loan spells with Rotherham, Portsmouth and Blackburn, and was part of Scotland's World Cup squad.
Stoke's summer signings
Hirst is Stoke's sixth new signing of the summer. He joins Ethan Galbraith, Svante Ingelsson, Djibril Soumare, Luke Graham, Josh Griffiths and Milan Smit at the club.
Stoke sporting director Jonathan Walters said: "We identified George as a target some time ago. He has a proven track record of scoring goals in this division and knows what it takes to be successful."
Hirst said he felt moving to Stoke would improve his game. "Everyone wants to be somewhere that is going to help make them a better player and somewhere they feel they can help," he said. "I feel like this is both of those things for me."
Hirst is set for his debut at Southampton on Saturday.
