What a few weeks it has been for George Hirst.
The young Owls striker made his senior bow for Wednesday last month in the EFL Cup-tie at Cambridge before receiving a call up for international duty with the England Under-18s.
The Three Lions faced Italy and Israel in a round robin format and kicked off with an impressive 2-1 win over the Azzurri at Fleetwood’s Highbury Stadium.
Hirst was a second half substitute in England’s opening victory but starred in the stunning 5-1 win over Israel four days later.
England produced a five-star performance at Morecambe’s Globe Arena to finish top of the three-team mini tournament, with Hirst named in the starting XI and on target twice in the first half.
Naturally delighted to add more goals to his tally at England youth level, Hirst told swfc.co.uk:
“Of course it is very nice to score for your country and always a very proud moment.
“I want to score goals for England and I want to score goals for Sheffield Wednesday, that’s my job. It was a good experience against Israel for me, there was a decent crowd in the stadium and it all helps.”
The 17-year-old says he is revelling in playing alongside the country’s brightest young talents and believes the success during the international break shows what credentials and potential the group have.
“It can only reflect well,” he continued. “It’s a strong group of players. We had two very different tests against Italy and Israel.
“Italy are one of the leading nations, whereas Israel presented different challenges for us as they sat back and we had to break them down.
“I just want to play well, whether that means scoring goals or creating them.”
So what next for George and how is the Wednesday product dealing with his progress on all fronts this season?
“At the minute I feel everything is going really well,” he said. “I welcome pressure and know it will only increase with where I eventually want to be, dealing with setbacks, dealing with disappointment, dealing with success – it’s all part of the experience.
“For me at the moment, I just want to focus on playing well for Sheffield Wednesday, put the graft in and hopefully earn a place on the next England camp.”
And to finish, Hirst spoke of one of his finest moments to date – his first senior Owls appearance.
Although Wednesday were defeated after extra time by Cambridge, it was a proud moment for George to don the SWFC shirt and represent his club.
“It was an absolute honour. The result wasn’t what we wanted but to step out for the club that I support was brilliant.
“It’s always been my ambition to play first team football here and that little taste has driven me on to get more in the future.”