Neil Lennon has opened up on the moment he knew Gary Hooper was destined for Celtic – and it only took ten minutes of watching him in action for struggling Scunthorpe to make up his mind.
It turned out to be one of Lennon’s best signings, with the striker quickly becoming a fan favourite and netting 82 goals in just 138 appearances in all competitions.
Despite playing in a side battling at the bottom of the Championship, Hooper had already notched over 20 goals — a feat that caught Lennon’s eye.
The former Hoops boss took matters into his own hands during his first spell in charge, jumping in the car and heading south to run the rule over the striker. But it came at a cost.
The former Celtic manager told SNN, “I drove to Scunthorpe to watch him, took me five hours from Glasgow.
“I got six points on my licence driving down, I was raging! But I watched him and I knew after ten minutes that he was for me.
“He was playing in a team that were second or third from bottom, but he had scored 20-odd goals. Speaks volumes for himself. So yeah, that was a great one to get over the line.”
Signed for £2.5 million, Hooper went on to become Celtic’s top scorer for three consecutive seasons and has since been labelled by Lennon as the best striker the club has had since Henrik Larsson.
When Kyogo came and set teh pitch alight in Glasgow, it did spark some debate, but not all fans were on board that the Japanese man was the best since Larsson. Many fans pointed to Hooper and reminded supporters of his quality.
