Gary Hooper: Could bring in a welcome wad for the Shrimpers
Former Blues striker Gary Hooper, now banging them in for Championship club Scunthorpe United, is believed to have been shown around Glasgow Celtic's Lennoxtown training complex, and we all know what happens whe young Gary is shown around places, usually golf courses.
If present Celtic caretaker boss Neil Lennon is confirmed in the Hoops hot seat over the next few days expect Gary to be the subject of a £2million pound transfer to the Scottish Premiership club.
And if that happens, Uncle Ron, sorry I mean Southend, would pick up around £350,000 due to a sell-on clause in his contract when the 22-year old former Grays hitman signed for the Irons a couple of years ago for £175,000 in the summer of 2008.
Which is not bad as we got less thann 200k for Lee Barnard, and look like accepting 150k for Simon Francis. Bargin sales at Southend!
Scunny boss Neil Adkins told www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk: "There has been a lot of interest in Gary all season — a lot of interest. A lot of clubs have been watching him all season. I know Celtic have been down on numerous occasions. But Gary can handle the attention because he is a sensible kid. I don't know anything about him being up in Glasgow for a look around because our chairman is dealing with any interest that comes along. But I do know there has been plenty."
Full story here: www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11688_6170460,00.html
Hooper has scored 50 goals in 95 appearances for the Irons, smashing in 30 when they gained promotion through the League One play-offs last season, and 20 more in the Championship when he was playing in a struggling side.
No wonder teams such as Derby, Wigan and Wolves have all been sniffing around the player that only scored 4 times in 44 games in his time at Roots Hall, most of those coming on as a sub, though I was at Bournemouth he scored one of those in a 4-1 win, and for one game showed what he could have done for us. Gary was very good that day.
The would also be good news if everyone's favourite ex-Shrimper, Nicky 'this is my dream move' Bailey also decided to move on from Charlton Athletic, the team he missed a penalty for in their play-off semi-final that doomed the Addicks to another season in the third tier.
It seems Ron got a 20 per cent sell-on clause placed in his going away contract and with the ginger one hardly likely to hang around for another year with the Championship vultures circuling the Valley, over a half a million windfall could be heading Southend's way this summer.
Even so, don't expect most of it to head towards Tilly's rebuilding budget though, but at least any poor sod who does sign on for our promised promotion push should get paid!
The Hooper Files
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gary Hooper | ||
| Date of birth | 26 January 1988 (1988-01-26) | ||
| Place of birth | Loughton, England | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 9 | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Scunthorpe United | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2004-2006 | Grays Athletic | 69 | (20) |
| 2006-2008 | Southend United | 32 | (2) |
| 2007 | → Leyton Orient (loan) | 4 | (2) |
| 2008 | → Hereford United (loan) | 19 | (11) |
| 2008- | Scunthorpe United | 80 | (43) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:01, 18 May 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). | |||
(Player information supplied by Wikipedia, for the full article go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Hooper)