Celtic Opinion: Hoops should re-sign Gary Hooper for free this summer
According to The Scottish Sun, Celtic manager Neil Lennon has expressed his desire to reunite with Gary Hooper in the summer if he manages to land the managerial job at Parkhead on a permanent basis.
The Scottish Sun also understands that Lennon is in a pole position to take over as the permanent manager at the end of the season, having guided the Hoops to an impressive run of results since taking over the reins from Brendan Rodgers a couple of months back.
Lennon was the man responsible for bringing in Gary Hooper to Parkhead from Scunthorpe United for a fee of £2.4 million back in 2010 and he might bring him back to Celtic this summer as a free agent.
Hooper has been released by Championship club Sheffield Wednesday after three-and-a-half years at Hillsborough during which he scored 31 goals in 88 games for the Owls. The 31-year-old is currently on the lookout for a new club heading into the upcoming campaign and Lennon’s comments have fuelled speculations of a sensational return to Parkhead for the Englishman.
Hooper carved out a massive reputation for himself in the Scottish Premiership following his move to Celtic in 2010, helping the Hoops to a couple of domestic league titles and two Scottish Cup triumphs over the course of a three-year spell at Parkhead.
He quickly established himself a firm fan favourite at Celtic and topped the club’s goalscoring charts for three successive seasons.
All in all, Hooper delivered 82 goals and 30 assists from 138 appearances for the Hoops and also scored in both Champions League and Europa League before completing a £5 million move to Norwich City in the summer of 2013.
To put things into perspective, Celtic should not hesitate to bring the prolific frontman back to Parkhead this summer and getting a striker of his calibre on their books for free would be an absolute steal for the Hoops. However, Celtic moving for Hooper might depend on whether or not Neil Lennon takes over as the permanent manager a the end of the season.
Celtic are on the verge of claiming their eighth straight domestic title this season, having left Rangers far behind in the race for the Scottish Premiership crown. However, they would need to dip into the transfer window to bring in a few attacking reinforcements this summer, with the likes of Timothy Weah and Oliver Burke set to return to their parent clubs PSG and West Brom.
That would leave Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths as options up front, but given that the latter has not featured regularly for the Hoops this term, they should look at Gary Hooper as someone who could add that extra firepower to their attacking ranks.
A strong and skilful striker with solid well-rounded attributes, Hooper is known for his smart hold-up play, which allows him to operate as the focal point of the attack and bring the other players into the game.
He is a very good passer of the ball as well, using short exchanges to link up with his teammates and often creating chances with his incisive through balls. Widely regarded as a ‘fox inside the box’, Hooper excels with his poaching instincts and is a clinical finisher in front of goal.
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Hooper is no stranger to the style of play prevalent in the Scottish top flight, and given that he was a fan favourite at Parkhead earlier in his career, one would expect him to acclimatise to the change in surroundings very quickly and make an instant impact next season.
The 31-year-old still has plenty to offer at the highest level and Celtic should do everything in their power to convince him to complete a sensational return to Parkhead this summer.
