Gary Hooper v Jordan Rhodes
Relations between Celtic and the Canaries should be strong following two friendlies in the last twelve months and respect between two clubs that run their business sensibly despite the financial madness all around.
Regardless of the contempt that some in England have for all things Scottish a £5m bid for a striker that scored home and away against Spartak Moscow in the Champions League is beyond contempt.
Most rational managers would rather have Hooper in their side than so-called marquee signings like Andy Carroll and Daniel Sturridge let alone £8m Jordan Rhodes.
Hooper has out performed all three strikers throughout his career and can look back on four solid seasons of scoring 20 plus in the Championship and SPL.
In August Blackburn paid Huddersfield £8m for a striker whose pedigree hadn’t extended beyond League One!
In 110 League One appearances for Huddersfield Rhodes scored 73 goals, in the Championship Hooper scored 43 times in 78 Scunthorpe appearances.
Dismissing the insulting bid Neil Lennon said: “Norwich made a bid and we have rejected it. I’m very annoyed it’s come out down there because we like to do our business privately.
“I don’t like the thought of Norwich trying to unsettle a player. I’m not going to point any fingers — but it has certainly not come out from up here.
“We looked at the bid, we rejected it and it is as you were. I spoke to Gary’s representatives and we have made our position clear.
“We’ve made an offer to them on a new contract and we are waiting to hear back from them. Norwich’s valuation is nowhere near ours.”
There is little chance of Hooper playing for Celtic in Europe next season but the search for the next Hooper is already underway.
In less than three seasons Celtic have defined themselves as a selling club that uncovers and nurtures emerging talent. The next step in this development is to sell players for considerable profit to reinvest in the team.
The £10m sale of Aiden McGeady helped fund the recruitment of Hooper, it’ll take a similar sum to buy Hooper with Celtic holding all the cards as the poker stakes are increased.
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