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Should Celtic sell Gary Hooper?

Two goals and an all-round impressive performance against the 2nd biggest team in the league yesterday underlined the value of Gary Hooper to Celtic. The English striker – signed in 2010 from Scunthorpe United (amusingly called Firewall FC by the Guardian) – has been in scintillating form this season with 20 goals in 30 games.

After being the subject of a £5m bid from Norwich, and having only 18 months to go on his contract, the question is being asked: should Celtic sell Gary Hooper?

Since arriving at Celtic, Hooper has scored 71 goals in 116 games. That’s a strike-rate of 61.2%. This season his strike-rate has upped to 66.7%. The striker would have been in the England squad for their Zlatan-inspired defeat to Sweden in August had he been fit.

All of which makes £5m a laughable offer, especially when you consider Loic Remy – with 1 goal in 16 games for Marseille – has just joined QPR for £8m. Although, when you take Harry’s % off that it was probably 50p he was actually valued at.

No, Hooper is worth much more than £5m. The problem for Celtic is his contract situation. Should we try and keep Hooper for a shot at Juventus? We will win the league with or without him regardless, but I believe he is critical to any hopes we have against Turin’s finest crooks.

In the last 18 months Hooper’s link-up play and ability to forage as a loan striker in Europe has come on leaps and bounds. He’s scored 4 goals in 9 European games this season, and when you consider the calibre of opposition we have played, that’s pretty decent. However, it has been his ability to harry and harass, as well as finish even the merest of sniffs, which makes him a must stay for Juve.

The ideal situation for Celtic is that Hooper signs a new deal. We bump up his pay and he stays. We put a clause in there of say, £10m+, which means that we will get a very decent return on our investment and player who knows that if he continues to shine and who knows, plays a part in our journey closer to Wembley, then bigger clubs with more means and ambition than Norwich will come a-calling.

This is similar to the situation we faced with Petrov when he moved to Villa in 2006. Stan was agitating for a move. He wanted to go down south, but by signing his new deal earlier in 2006 it ensured we got decent money for him (c. £7m if memory serves). I expect Lawwell will be having conversations with Hooper’s representatives dangling such a carrot. There may not be a formal release clause – that’s so very Spanish – but I expect there will be a gentleman’s agreement made with regards to what we do with him in the summer.

So, should Celtic sell Gary Hooper?

Eventually that is inevitable. But not in January and certainly not for £5m. We would get that in the summer anyway. I expect, new deal or not, we have Hooper for another six months. The question is whether we get what he is worth or a depressed price due to his contract running out. Sign a new deal, Gary. Play your heart out, dump Juventus out of the ECL and get into that England squad. If you leave in the summer for £10m+ then I don’t think there is a single Celtic fan who would grudge you the move under these circumstances.

 

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Paul
11 years ago

If he doesent want to re-sign then yes, sell him

Joe
11 years ago

This is exactly what should happen. I think Celtic are playing the game, with Hooper’s knowledge, of alerting bigger clubs than Norwich that we will sell him in the summer to a top four club in the EPL.
Gary’s stock is high now but will be even bigger in the summer.

paul mcCann
11 years ago

i wonder if garys prospects of an england call up
will be better served by scoring goals in europe rather than with a mid table epl team

scholzybhoy
11 years ago
Reply to  paul mcCann

two words darren bent !!

Bobo
11 years ago

There’s no way we should even consider selling our top goal scorer ahead of our biggest match of the season. If its for silly money and we have a PROVEN goal scorer to replace him (which I doubt) then maybe.
Our policy has been to unearth gems and sell them on at profit and its working well but we can’t afford to gamble with so little time between now and the Juve game.
Stay until the summer Hooperman and leave with a treble and the best wishes of the Celtic fans.

Iain
11 years ago

If we get a good price for him , then punt him and let Tony Watt lead the line with Stokes , we’ve also got young Atajic coming thru .

Brianbhoy
11 years ago

Guys,
Read the text of Lennys interview. Classic talking the price up. Hooper is going and going this January.
The only questions are to whom and how much?
Celtic will take £8m and I bet start negotiations with Norwich tomorrow. It will be done by the end of the week, unless another suitor comes in. I’m not worried too much as I rate Watt very highly and with a decent run he’ll score loads. I am also very optimistic regards the future as we are accumulating some very very good young talent like Watt, certainly McGeouch, Forrest, Rogic and Mathews. Lots to be happy about for the future. HH!

MarkyBhoy
11 years ago
Reply to  Brianbhoy

Not only is Watt not ready, he is a very different striker to Hooper. It will be a mistake to let Hooper go for any price in January. Even if we get ten million for him it’s still not enough money to splash on a sure fire goalscorer. Momentum is such a big part of football and if it’s not broke………

Pensionerbhoy
11 years ago

Bedford

No one in any club is indispensable. If he is, then there is a flaw in the system. There may be those fans would like some to stay for ever but somewhere along the line even the greatest have to move on for one reason or another. History has too often shown us this very thing. Today, it is a question rather of when and how rather than if. The club, therefore, should be prepared for the departures and not be left wanting as it has been so often in the past.

The pluses for keeping Hooper both for the club and himself are fairly obvious and have been mentioned on several occasions by others. Gary Hooper is without doubt a top favourite of many fans. He has the opportunity to raise his profile faster and higher than anywhere else except the top of the tops. His future with a mediocre club in the EPL is probably not his most progressive option. It is also a league where many Scottish “stars” have faded into oblivion or, at best, cast upon the slippery slopes of lower leagues. The days when ex Scottish club players’ were dominant in English league clubs are well and truly gone. In addition, in comparison to most of the transfer fees banded about in the EPL and even the Championship, the current offers for him are insulting. Celtic should not be made the barrow boys of the marketplace. Therefore there is no shortage of arguments against him leaving or being sold.

On the other hand, the draw of the EPL is enormous and even small clubs with no successes to their name and probably no hope of any, are given regular TV exposure. This places Garry on display for either international team opportunities or more importantly potentially more lucrative transfers later on. He himself may feel he is stifled by the SPL even though he is being given the chance to participate in the highest club competition by being there. He may see March and only two more European games as all that is left for him to take part in the CL with Celtic and for him that might not be a strong enough incentive to stay at Parkhead, even though he has no chance in the foreseeable future of any CL participation where he goes. Above all, if the proper level of fee was on offer, it would be foolish for Celtic who, we must accept, are a developing into a feeder club to leagues outside Scotland, not to make the sensible financial decision and sell him. We all know that every player either from outside or through the youth system who is developed by Celtic, for the time being anyway, is more of a quality product to be sold to interested buyers at the right or at least a good price. Hooper, in my opinion, is merely the start of a long line. Our focus should not be on how to prevent it but on how to keep the conveyor belt moving for what is best for the club. We need to accept that for some years to come, success on the field may be cream rather than the cake itself.

H H

bognor bhoyle
11 years ago
Reply to  Pensionerbhoy

great post and as true as the day is long .
age and wisdom come to mind here .
hail hail

Pensionerbhoy
11 years ago

The failure to post my comments has to be a Ralph thing. It has to be! 🙂

H H

11 years ago

No less than 10. And ask for more. Let them negotiate you down …

Raymobhoy
11 years ago

I think Lawell should use the act of Charlie Mulgrew not allowing Messi to take the free kick where he wanted in the Barcelona game as an example of how not to be bullied in the market place.
If we sold Hooper for £5 million it would be the green light for all sorts of ridiculous offers from EPL teams.

raffaelopietro
11 years ago

Less of the ‘crooks’ patter regarding the mighty Juve 😉

Paul
11 years ago
Reply to  raffaelopietro

Fuck off coin tosser!!

Steveo
11 years ago

Hooper wont be going anywhere for £5m he may well go this window but it’s more likely he’ll go in summer for about £7.5m if he goes this window the offer will need to be in region of £10m. Een if he does go in summer for 7.5 I wud expect there to be add ons also.

Altho Hooper is not the brightest bulb in the box I think Norwich’s 5-0 defeat at weekend will tell him to steer clear of them!!

Estadio
11 years ago

If it was down to me I would bundle him into the back of a transit, drive him down to Norwich and deposit him blindfolded and trussed like a an oven ready turkey on the steps of a widswept, drenched, miserable east anglian plaything of a tv cook.

I would take his picture as the rabid fens dogs chewed his nuts off and he was molested by the unused extras from deliverance and then post on the Celtic website that picture and one of him taking the plaudits and glory in the Champions league, under the banner headline……”duelling with giants or duelling banjos”

Feck him!

He won’t even flick the needle on the register of Celtic greats.

Inglourious ingrate red neck tosser.

Well it is Monday.

Hail Hail

Estadio

Pensionerbhoy
11 years ago
Reply to  Estadio

Estadio

I get the feeling you’re not keen on Delia’s classics. Myself, I don’t look at the cook when eating my cake unless it’s my gorgeous wife, of course. The next door neighbour can add a bit of spice to the curry, mind. Looks like Hooper would be better off in a curry too than in your appetising mixture. No88 on the menu, I presume.

H H

Estadio
11 years ago
Reply to  Pensionerbhoy

Pensionerbhoy.

Gary is just the McGuffin for my monday morning ire.

Especially after 9 days of irn bru and a particularly unsuccessful hymen breaking clay pigeon shoot yesterday when I forgot my long sight glasses and was aiming at shadows, some of which I was told were real pigeons. I also looked at my bank account and worked out the financial benefit of eating, versus heating versus dignitas. This was compounded by ‘news’ rumour that Gary Hooper had turned down over 25k a week with MY CLUB, his wages being in part contributed to by my emergency loan and turning the heating down one degree to zero.

Add to that the utter desolation of spending my Sunday in Mauchkline, Sanquar and Tarbolton where all the inhabitants bear a remarkable likeness to Rabbie Burns, albeit most of them now are teenage mothers with multi-occupancy go-chairs. Furthermore finding out that the object of ones desires, Jacintha was standing next to me in the gents and goes by the real name of Farquar was just about the last click on the trigger being retracted.

As for Saturday…Being knackered to be fair is a bit of a bonus since at various times today I was convinced that either me or someone close by was likely to shoot one or both my feet off at my clay pigeon shooting extravaganza.

Fortunately the worst I have come out with is a shoulder that feels as if a bad tooth is being pulled out from my elbow to my neck.

My bullet proof vest was never needed which you probably think I should be pleased about, but since I am emptyingmy mental attic , you have to take into account the accumulation of rubbish that resides in mine.

For instance, take Saturday) morning….

Life can be a real bind, I thought, although to be fair the alternative might be even more of a penance – and in my case significantly hotter than it was in Glasgow. t

Anyway the point is that after a night on the thrilling and stimulating ‘teacher circuit- or as they themselves call it ‘a pedagogical roller coaster’ – over in Jordanhill the previous evening, I was now fully saturated with avocado and peach on Ryvita, clotted cream and mango juice with guava.

So I got myself up from the boudoir and made a mug of coffee with a decadent 3 spoonfuls of deep dark roast, and retired to the couch to watch Doctor Who and consider my plan of action to see me through another big dipper of fun-filled surprises and alcohol free healthy heartbeats.

I did of course have my clay pigeon shooting to prepare for, although my suggestion that I bring an AK47 and Balaclava was treated with some concern – as If I would do that, they seem to be a wee bit concerned that I might not fit in – fortunately I allayed their fears explaining that it was what was called a ‘joke’!

AK47? What a craic! It would of course be a Kalashnikov.

I don’t think the cry of ‘tiocfaidh ar la’ as I pretended to be riddling the pigeons with a spray of 50 mm shells reassured my new found friends.

Anyway, back to the couch, Dr Who and the coffee………

I had no sooner settled and switched on the John Logie Baird magic lantern when to my utter horror I found that I had forgotten to put a sweetener in my decadent mug of cafe noir! Just who needs such a quandry at that time of the morning?….so I contemplated my options….

Should I take my coffee back into the scullery (kitchen that is for younger readers or ‘servants quarters’ if you are a bit of a luvvy from the west end) and put a sweetener in it, or should I get a sweetener and spoon bring it back into the living room?

I thought about it for a while….in fact long enough for Dr Who to get to and from the Roamin invasion of Britain in 44BC.(that’s BC as in Before Celtic which is why I spelt it ROAMIN as in ROAMIN IN THE GLOAMIN’)

As a result the decision was taken out of my hands as my coffee went cold and I had to start the whole day again.

Things could of course have been worse….I could have forgotten to put salt in my porridge….in that case the alternative to life would probably have been preferable.

So Gary just copped what the clay pigeons should have copped yesterday!

Jacintha….Jacintha!!

Hail Hail

Estadio

Estadio
11 years ago
Reply to  Pensionerbhoy

It’s Monday and I may have already replied…but who cares….two for the astonishingly cheap price of one…..in total – zilch!

Pensionerbhoy.

Gary is just the McGuffin for my monday morning ire.

Especially after 9 days of irn bru and a particularly unsuccessful hymen breaking clay pigeon shoot yesterday when I forgot my long sight glasses and was aiming at shadows, some of which I was told were real pigeons. I also looked at my bank account and worked out the financial benefit of eating, versus heating versus dignitas. This was compounded by ‘news’ rumour that Gary Hooper had turned down over 25k a week with MY CLUB, his wages being in part contributed to by my emergency loan and turning the heating down one degree to zero.

Add to that the utter desolation of spending my Sunday in Mauchkline, Sanquar and Tarbolton where all the inhabitants bear a remarkable likeness to Rabbie Burns, albeit most of them now are teenage mothers with multi-occupancy go-chairs. Furthermore finding out that the object of ones desires, Jacintha was standing next to me in the gents and goes by the real name of Farquar was just about the last click on the trigger being retracted.

As for Saturday…Being knackered to be fair is a bit of a bonus since at various times today I was convinced that either me or someone close by was likely to shoot one or both my feet off at my clay pigeon shooting extravaganza.

Fortunately the worst I have come out with is a shoulder that feels as if a bad tooth is being pulled out from my elbow to my neck.

My bullet proof vest was never needed which you probably think I should be pleased about, but since I am emptyingmy mental attic , you have to take into account the accumulation of rubbish that resides in mine.

For instance, take Saturday) morning….

Life can be a real bind, I thought, although to be fair the alternative might be even more of a penance – and in my case significantly hotter than it was in Glasgow. t

Anyway the point is that after a night on the thrilling and stimulating ‘teacher circuit- or as they themselves call it ‘a pedagogical roller coaster’ – over in Jordanhill the previous evening, I was now fully saturated with avocado and peach on Ryvita, clotted cream and mango juice with guava.

So I got myself up from the boudoir and made a mug of coffee with a decadent 3 spoonfuls of deep dark roast, and retired to the couch to watch Doctor Who and consider my plan of action to see me through another big dipper of fun-filled surprises and alcohol free healthy heartbeats.

I did of course have my clay pigeon shooting to prepare for, although my suggestion that I bring an AK47 and Balaclava was treated with some concern – as If I would do that, they seem to be a wee bit concerned that I might not fit in – fortunately I allayed their fears explaining that it was what was called a ‘joke’!

AK47? What a craic! It would of course be a Kalashnikov.

I don’t think the cry of ‘tiocfaidh ar la’ as I pretended to be riddling the pigeons with a spray of 50 mm shells reassured my new found friends.

Anyway, back to the couch, Dr Who and the coffee………

I had no sooner settled and switched on the John Logie Baird magic lantern when to my utter horror I found that I had forgotten to put a sweetener in my decadent mug of cafe noir! Just who needs such a quandry at that time of the morning?….so I contemplated my options….

Should I take my coffee back into the scullery (kitchen that is for younger readers or ‘servants quarters’ if you are a bit of a luvvy from the west end) and put a sweetener in it, or should I get a sweetener and spoon bring it back into the living room?

I thought about it for a while….in fact long enough for Dr Who to get to and from the Roamin invasion of Britain in 44BC.(that’s BC as in Before Celtic which is why I spelt it ROAMIN as in ROAMIN IN THE GLOAMIN’)

As a result the decision was taken out of my hands as my coffee went cold and I had to start the whole day again.

Things could of course have been worse….I could have forgotten to put salt in my porridge….in that case the alternative to life would probably have been preferable.

So Gary just copped what the clay pigeons should have copped yesterday!

Jacintha….Jacintha!!

Hail Hail

Estadio

John Littledick
11 years ago
Reply to  Pensionerbhoy

In the case of Delia, i would have my cake and eat it! 🙂

schoosh71
11 years ago

Finding players that can score goals in the SPL has proved difficult enough, (never mind the champions league) for our scouting network. He needs to be kept until the Champions League qualifiers are over next season. Saying that, he’s got to be worth the 30k a week Norwich are reported as offering, if Walcot just signed a deal for 90k. It’s goals that gets you the prizes.

Pensionerbhoy
11 years ago
Reply to  schoosh71

schoosh71

Will he still be scoring as freely in Fenland though?

To be fair schoosh, I am just checking if Dr. Ralph is lurking 🙂

H H

schoosh71
11 years ago
Reply to  Pensionerbhoy

I believe he’s a goalscorer mate, and like all great strikers he has got into the great habit of hitting the target with his shots. I don’t know the stats P/B for shots taken hit/miss. I reckon his will be up there with the best. My uneducated guess is yes, he would score goals in any company.

HH

elcormaco@gmail.com
11 years ago

We, like most clubs, are a selling/ feeder club. No disgrace in that, but what we should look at is Porto, a feeder club too but one that hold out for top dollar for their players. They sell players but only when they want and at a high price. As some one else said if Remy is goes for 8m then Hooper must be in or around this at least- great scoring record, good age, English, improving. To sell cheap sets a dangerous precedent. I d love him to stay, you could see from his debut in a pre season tourney at Arsenal we had a player and he s really developed, but if he wants to leave so be it, but not on the cheap. Sign a new deal, play the season, score the winner against Juve, get in the England squad and get a better club than Norwich to pay 12m in the summer.

Pensionerbhoy
11 years ago

elcormaco@gmail.com

That is exactly what I was trying to say. Some day what is in my head will transfer to paper 🙂

H H

Estadio
11 years ago

Pensionerbhoy

I have not ignored you. I took great care and attention in replying…..twice……but the etims honeymonster seems to have eaten them.

Sad thing is that the ‘twice repeated post’ is probably one of the best ever anywhere on the net. Now posterity will be so denuded and bereft of its brilliance that the future will seem like the cold lifeless dawn of a black hole as it forms from the sudden vacuum formed by the ‘lost nebulae of Estadio’.

Hail Hail

Estadio

Pensionerbhoy
11 years ago
Reply to  Estadio

Estadio

I feel your pain having had the illness so often I am at a loss as to how I am still breathing. Do you really trust that Dr. Ralph fella?

As for trying to respond to your post, I am dumbstruck. Great stuff, mate.

H H

Admin
11 years ago
Reply to  Bedford Falls

Bedford
Can you post a comment listing the bad words….there’s a challenge for you. Failing that tell Ralph and he can highlight in Diary, might make for colourful reading!
regards
Desi

Diegoinhoops
11 years ago

If they bid 8-9 mill its a realistic valuation IMO, Pete will get every penny he can thats for sure, Delia is aboot to learn whit real negotiation is

irishmaninporto
11 years ago

Wasn’t there another striker for Norwich who scored a load of goals but couldn’t get a sniff of the England team. I mean I hear that Hooper may not be the sharpest but even he can see that playing for Norwich would not improve his call up chances one bit ??!
Hopefully he stays but looks as if the laptops have us lining up Charlie Austin from Burnley as a replacement ?? And Miku is he injured ??
The Porto bit is correct every player has a minimum 25 million euro clause in the contract … Some higher but at least 25 million and they don’t leave for less than at least 75-80% of that fee!

Admin
11 years ago

Am I the only one who sees a lot of the young Kenny Dalglish in Gary Hooper. Give him what he wants and keep him happy.

Or lock him away and lie to the police.

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