Neil Lennon is reportedly keen on bringing former Celtic striker Gary Hooper back to the club.
According to the Scottish Sun, Hooper is on Lennon’s summer wishlist if he gets the job. The interim boss hasn’t yet been confirmed as manager for next season. Despite that, it appears clear that he’s still planning his recruitment for next season.
Hooper has, interestingly, been retweeting supporters who have been asking him to come back. The Sun believes that he would be interested in a return. That wouldn’t be surprising either given how his career down south has worked out.
Hooper is currently a free agent having left Sheffield Wednesday. He’s scored just 31 goals over the last three-and-a-half years. The former Celt has found game-time tough to come by since heading south back in 2013.
His record at Celtic was much more attractive of course. The Englishman fired home a staggering 82 goals in 137 appearances. He managed goals in Glasgow derby matches, the Europa League, and the Champions League.
So what makes this a controversial move?
Hooper hasn’t been playing regular first-team football for a long time. His record down south isn’t impressive, and he’s failed to make the grade at both Norwich City and Sheffield.
The Premiership has improved tenfold in Hooper’s absence. Given he’s 31 years of age, you have to wonder if he would still have the same impact he once did.
At the end of the day, if this is the best Lennon can come up with this summer, it would be a concern. Hooper was a great servant to Celtic, but he’s hardly proven he’s good enough to warrant a comeback.
With Celtic now going for nine and 10-in-a-row, you would hope they would be more ambitious than this. Being a free agent would mean he comes at no real risk, but is he truly good enough to be one of our main strikers next season?
He’s scored just 51 goals over the last six-and-a-half years. His move from Parkhead to England wasn’t supposed to go this way, and if he instantly came up here and made an impact, it would be a huge surprise.
If this move is truly something Lennon wants to pull off, that’s a concern for the summer.
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