30 Sept 2012

"Brendan Rodgers is a fan!" - LFC tracking £7m 76-goal striker. Worth a bid...?

Liverpool's players finally broke their goalscoring hoodoo yesterday with a fantastic 5-2 away win against Norwich, but the club (arguably) still needs to bring in a prolific goalscorer in january, and the latest player to be linked with the club is Celtic striker Gary Hooper.

Liverpool have been linked with the 24-year old several times over the last few months, and with 53 goals in the last 94 games, the Harlow-born striker definitely fits the bill.

Hooper's stats are impressive:

* 76 goals and 22 assists in the last 126 games.

* 1 goal every 1.6 games.

* Goal or assist every 1.2 games.

Celtic boss Neil Lennon is, however, confident Hooper will renew his contract at Parkhead.

"He is only 24 and there is more to come. He is certainly enjoying life here and has made a real name for himself.

"He has been a huge player for me. We are in talks at the moment over a new contract. Negotiations are underway with all the parties"


According to one source, Brendan Rodgers a 'long-term fan' of the player, who would reportedly cost around £7m.

Celtic is a massive, well-supported club, but I think it's safe to predict that if a big Premier League club comes in for Hooper, he'll leave Parkhead.

Worth a bid?



Jaimie Kanwar


72 comments:

  1. Please no more British crap.

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  2. JK. Please provide a newspaper link to LfC interest in him. First time I'm
    hearing this.

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  3. Please no more over rated British players

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  4. Worth noting that a big Premier league club that's not in the Champions league may not be as attractive as a big SPL club that is.

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  5. Sorry lads but 7M is not going to get anywhere near him.

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  6. It's Scottish league! Their only one decent team their Celtic -.- so it's obvious people can score a lot their because its a crap league.

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  7. Agreed!... british strikers are crap... if it's not Walcott then better bring non-british player..

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  8. Steven Fletcher is the one British player I would have liked us to have bought in the summer. Sunderland have scored 5 league goals this season - all from Fletcher!

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  9. Yes but against the low quality of Scottish football outside of Celtic or Rangers! Flatters to deceive.....

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  10. This is a KENNY DALGLISH type signing. Let's not start wasting money again. If we can't make top quality signings i would prefer we don't buy. I've had enough of this club wasting money on OVERPRICED AVERAGE BRITISH GARBAGE.We just bought these scouts in from MAN CITY it's time for them start searching the world for talent that is good enough to wear a LIVERPOOL shirt.

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  11. was hoping we were going 2 get him in da summer he wud get goals no prob more than the so called striker we paid 11 million dis summer

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  12. There are three options... Huntelaar, Lorente and Walcott... All in the last year of their contracts... The first two are pure quality and regular scorers, as for Walcott he wants to play in the strikers role, EPL experience and pace to burn.... Henderson and Downing need to removed asap.... No effort, application, ability, desire or respect for the red shirt.... A left back too please and suddenly we could have a team that could fire us up the league...

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  13. Haven't seen him play so can't comment if he is any good but BR has bought well so far so won't mind if he is bought but still would prefer to see us signing someone like Llorente or Huntelaar who have genuine quality and would improve us significantly.

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  14. Nikica jelavici was signed from Rangers. Gary Hooper is 3 yrs younger and has better scoring record than Nikica . His contract expire in 2014 and would not cost more than 5M .

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  15. walcott wil never b a center forward he has pace yeah but da touch of a rapest and cant head it so if was a pick of da other 2 then huntelaar all day long

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  16. We're not deaf, stop repeating yourself.

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  17. Agree 100% mate. No more british crap. If we only could get some money back from Downing and Henderson.

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  18. So? I want talented players playing for Liverpool.... Rather have llorente

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  19. Yeah, British players are crap! Allen, Sterling, Gerrard, Johnson and Shelvey should all be dropped! lol

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  20. Kkanda, I agree about Downing but not Henderson. He may not have had the best of times at the club but he always works hard and has the right attitude - he wants to improve and become a first team regular and I'd take him over players with more ability and less heart.

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  21. The 'source' is simply Metro.co.uk saying Liverpool are interested!!

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  22. Fox in the Box. Darren Bent kind of player.

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  23. Today's rumors are about Demba Ba if am not wrong?? Besides last time we signed Scottish Young Player of the Year from biggest club in the Scotland at that time - Rangers. Danny Wilson. Ya dig?

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  24. He is a very good player. For some reason Premier League managers have very little respect for Scottish league players. I think, they are much better than everyone think they are.
    Jelavic has been a great signing for Everton and he has shown how quality finisher he is.
    I think Hooper is a natural finisher and he can be a success for Liverpool.

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  25. if this is the type of signing we are talking about it shows how far our expectations have dropped under fsgs ownership

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  26. We missed on out on Jelavic and for an additional 1ml and better scoring ratio, missing out on this player could prove more costly.

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  27. That's probably why Jelavic moved to Everton, who aren't in any European competition. When he moved from Rangers, they too were a CL club. Could it be that some players would like to test them against better opposition on a weekly basis?

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  28. Agree with some of that but must remember that Rangers aren't/weren't exactly in a healthy state, so it might have also been a case of jumping ship before getting into a messy situation that happened to some of his former team mates when things got really bad as well as Rangers needing the money. I wonder if even Rapid Vienna, jelavic's old club, have got their money from Rangers yet, after the liquidation.

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  29. I have reservations about making signings from north of the border as the standard of play leaves a lot to be desired. Like the idea of Walcot though, he fits all the criteria as required by FSG

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  30. That was because Rangers were desperate for cash. Celtic are not and desperate to hold on to players. They have a few they can sell for£10m or there abouts.

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  31. Yeah, like Larson etc. we heard all this crap the last time we met Liverpool in Europe.

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  32. Fine player - but would never suit the tiki-taka-style. He will one day be great at Bolton or Sunderland...

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  33. he's more of an out and out striker than anyone else at lfc and scores all manner of goals. if you dont sign him, someone else will

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  34. Is there anymore left, you know, go British players? Who do you have in mind. England couldn't even put together a good team to take on anyone on the international level. Wake up. Yeah, Rooney is good, but who else is a good striker? No one.

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  35. I'm very sure LFC is getting better when those youngster took the pitch. With the financial limitation we are facing, we really don't have to look for players outside of what we are having now. It doesn't make a lot of sense. I firmly believe our youngsters will not be very much worse than all these potential targets mentioned if they are given more chance to play.

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  36. Can't you come up with better words to put your point across.You'll no doubt be on CRIMEWATCH at some stage going by the language you feel so comfortable using.

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  37. I have never seen LFC linked to this player ......... according to sources BR is long time fan !!!!! name those sources.

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  38. Celtic fan here. If you think Jelavic is good, Hooper is every bit as god as him as his scoring record matches Jelavic's at SPL level. He's a different type of player, smaller and not as good in the air but he's lethal in the box and is a terrific finisher. I have no doubts at all that he is capable of scoring as many for Liverpool as Jelavic has for Everton.

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  39. I honestly wouldn't mind having him in our team. Looks like a poacher, also can head the ball and has some trickery. Better having a striker than having none.

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  40. We all know that Brenden Rodgers will not be given the nest egg Kenny Dalglish was afforded, FSG, learned a big lesson Carroll £35m, Henderson £20m, Downing £16m, once bitten and all that. Brenden Rodgers bought Borini £12m but in my opinion Demba, Ba with the buy out clause in his contract £7.5m should have been Brendens first signing, with guaranteed goals, then Allen £15m who in most peoples opinion has been a great addition too the team. My point his big names and big fees don`t always bring you success? look what David Moyes paid for Jelavic, and he has proven himself in the Epl has he not? Imo Gary Hooper could be just what we need and for the reported £7m that could save us £13m to £15m on Huntelaar or Llorente, and we could get Demba, Ba also two for the price of one. And one last thing I wish people would stop having a go at British players, we have some Fantastic British players within our squad and other teams throughout GB.

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  41. I think he worth a bid seriously,hes not a british crap as he play some europian games. hes surely a finisher. he could position himself well and take the chances he have. From the compilation i think he didnt get the goalee chances to stop his shot,unlike suarez who sometimes takes too much time in shooting. ithink he or demba ba worth a bid. always look after big andy ,if hes improving his form,let him take the number 9.

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  42. Agree man,need a striker. i mean ,the real one

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  43. average player playing in a league that's equal to the 3rd division! no thanks!

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  44. I'm a celtic fan and he's no way near the level Liverpool need/want. plays on bad pitches against part time defenders

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  45. If they arent going to improve on Carroll then there is no point Hooper may well be capable but Liverpool need better.

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  46. He IS talented, mate. Just because he doesn't play in a high profile league doesn't mean he isn't talented. Just check out the goal he scored at Ibrox last season......

    And why bother with Llorente when we have just offloaded one beanpole? We need players for the system, not just the NAME.

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  47. Good post.
    Most people are just showing their prejudices towards Scottish football, rather than looking at the player rationally.

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  48. True.

    I hear we're going to replace KK with some Scottish bloke from Celtic - Dalglish I think his name is. They reckon £440,000 will be enough. Do they honestly think we'll retain the European Cup buying dross from that football outpost?

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  49. You protest too much, pal. Sounds like a smokescreen because you don't want to lose him.
    Can we have Charlie Mulgrew as well to replace the Spanish loon we have? !!!

    ;)

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  50. Don't listen to these guys saying that they are Celtic fans and he is rubbish, we know what they are.

    He is a very good player, albeit not what Liverpool need, i'm sure if he did go it would be loose change to you guys and you would be getting a far better player than Carroll.

    It was only a few seasons ago he out scored him in the championship and that was Carroll in a top team, Hooper in bottomish Scunthorpe. Its shocking that he has not been given even 1 chance with the national team.

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  51. He looks prolific and awesome in the highlights reel... Must be honest, haven't seen him play much, but he seems the type of player who can go quiet in a game.

    All in all, GREAT goals, but...
    I quite like where Liverpool are right now... budding the new talent, I wouldn't see anything better than a bench appearance for this guys as I highly rate Sterling Suarez Suso front line... then we have Yesil who has a brilliant scoring record (not at senior level sure, but I'm sure he can translate it)... then there's the other guys in line like Morgan Ngoo Pacheco etc.

    This doesn't jump at me for some reason...

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  52. At Celtic Gary Hoper get an easy test.Hoper never get hard test yet. Scotland league is not standard high quality games.BPL & SPL is not same from aspect pressure,situation and tempo of games.If LFC still try to bring him,i am sure G.Hoper will become only man on the bench.

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  53. your point being? differece is king kenny was a world class player who everybody wanted hence the £440,000 was a british transfer record at the time

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  54. please not walcot overated we need a striker not a winger with no end product rather have chamberlin from arsenal

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  55. dalglish gave r&ngers a 'donation' same as souness £8m for boumsong ffs both of them were at it

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  56. What Was Rangers aren't in Europe and can't be for a minimum 3 years. They went bust, liquidated and some bits got tranferred to a new "entity". That said, as a Celtic fan, even with the Champs League, Liverpool are a hell of a lot bigger draw than us. We have a wage structure that your reserves would balk at.

    In reply to those saying "no more" British players - it's not bad to have a few guys who play for the team and the honour - look what the Europe team did in the golf... however, if no-one in the EPL bid for "Hoops" - I'd be a happy bhoy.

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  57. 'IS" Sterling British then ???

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  58. y are the titles of your articles always misleading? i dont how to describe it really but it never reflects the content of the article. the way you've quoted rodgers is interested makes it look like someone important has said it.. lol but the truth (when reading the article) is no one has actually said it, its just a rumour from another article instead, who themselves do not have any proper reference or source. lol

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  59. wat u guyz fighting for anyway?

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  60. Celticabu has clearly not been to a Celtic game since King Kenny played for us - the pitches were abysmal then - or else he wouldn't make such idiotic claims about the pitches nowadays which are fine.
    Besides, he should ask any of his fellow LFC fans who travelled to Tynecastle recently.
    Re Hooper, you have players in your ranks who cost silly money and are at best average: Allen, Downing, Carroll, all cost a combined total of around £70M.
    So why wouldn't Hooper be worth a punt at around £8-10M?

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  61. I wish a South African player would play for Liverpool again. Stevie P woulda been good (i know crossing the Mersey is contentious). Mark Gonzales was born in Durban, so that's the closest we've been in recent times :(

    But still got the legend good old Brucey!!

    Kathlego Mphela could be good - not much pace, but lots of skill and he can finish...

    our football's a tad goal shy though http://www.psl.co.za/scorers.asp?id=794&s=4

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  62. Yes we all know the Scottish League isn't great but, remember Hooper has scored against the likes of Rangers, helsinborgs, udinese, Rennes as well as league teams. So its not just crappy teams he scoes against. He's a natural finisher who will score as long as he is provided opportunities from his team mates. Would say that he'd be a snip at £7m compared to the over-inflated prices you'd pay for a European alternative. Don't think Celtic will sell him though!

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  63. Hooper isn't the all round skillful player Suarez is but he works hard and he has a great ability to stick half chances in the net. I'm a Celtic fan but I've seen enough of Liverpool over the last 18 months to see that they create enough chances to win a game twice over, but can't finish any of them off. Why would you buy another player who has no end product in Walcott ahead of Hoops or Demba Ba? The latter 2 are both out and out poachers, and in terms of how they'd fit into the current Liverpool team either one up top with Suarez and Sterling playing either side would be a pretty lethal strike force. But I can't see Celtic selling him to be honest, but if he wants to go they're not the kind of club to stand in his way.

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  64. Did everyone want him?
    Sorry I hadn't realised. I confess I hadn't heard of him, but then I was only 7.

    My point is: Why would a player who can score a hatful in the SPL be unable to score goals in England? By that logic we would never be able to bring players through the ranks, and should concentrate solely on the higher echelons of the Spanish and Italian Leagues.

    Which we can't.

    Give him a go. He is probably THE most in-form English striker. He's level headed. And he has hunger and desire.
    He also has a proper haircut, and seems more interested in goals than what colour boots he will be wearing....

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  65. That too. If I'd read his/her comments properly I may have spotted the illiteracy myself, but people like this really annoy me.

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  66. steven fletcher didnt score as many goals as hooper when he was in the SPL. bet you wouldnt mind having him up front,

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  67. I wonder if his man of the match performance in tonights champions league game v a spartak side whom lost narrowly in the camp nou 2 weeks ago will change people's opinion?
    Brilliant goal , brilliant set up for 2nd and 1sadly chopped off.
    Guy is quality

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  68. Very sensible post, thanks for that!

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