Lennon: I'm pretty sure Gary will be at Celtic come February 1

Neil Lennon is confident that Gary Hooper will be a Celtic player on February 1.

The Celtic boss watched his top scorer add another two to his tally in the 4-0 win over Dundee United underlying his value to the hoops.

An improved offer from Norwich City was heavily leaked and rejected with Lennon growing tired of the circus that has developed around the former Scunthorpe striker.

“I’m pretty sure Gary will be a Celtic player come February 1,” the Celtic boss stated before his side’s match with Dundee United. “We have had private chats and he is really happy here. He wants to stay, he wants to see out the season, and we will have a look at the situation then.”

While Hooper seems happy enough at Celtic it’s not difficult to detect the workings of agents as detail after detail becomes public knowledge.

Word of an ‘improved Norwich bid has been accompanied by the news that Hooper has turned down a new deal with Celtic with the offer being put on the table in October.

Lennon is streetwise enough to read the signs and is determined to ensure that Celtic don’t end up on the losing side when the matter resolves itself.

“I’m disappointed again that these things have come out in public,” the Celtic boss added. “I’m not too sure where they are coming from but it’s certainly not us.

“It’s as you were. He didn’t like the look of the contract two or three months ago and nothing has changed.

“We feel it’s a very good offer. It would put him in the top two or three highest-paid players at the club. I’m sure he wants to be the highest paid but you can’t always get what you want.

“They have got a lot to think about, Gary and his representatives. If he doesn’t want to sign the contract, that’s his decision. It wouldn’t be my advice, but it’s Gary’s decision, or his representative’s decision.

“We are quite comfortable with that and we respect that. We made this offer in October and all of a sudden it has been rejected. It’s no coincidence that it’s the last 10 days of the (transfer) window, but we are quite comfortable with the whole situation.”

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