Gary Hooper a target for Celtic as Neil Lennon admits interest in Norwich striker



Neil Lennon would love to lure unsettled Gary Hooper back to Celtic this summer.



The Parkhead boss wants a Champions League standard striker in place ahead of the qualifying rounds in mid-July.



And Hooper, sold to relegation threatened Norwich for £5.2million last summer, is high on his wanted list after an indifferent harvest of just seven goals in his first season at Carrow Road.



Having a look: Celtic want to re-sign Gary Hooper from Norwich City at the end of the season

Admitting the finances involved could prove prohibitive, Lennon is scouring the European market, flying to Germany last week and ahead of another overseas mission following Sunday’s final SPFL clash with Dundee United.



Asked to name his summer priority, the Parkhead boss responded: ‘Centre- forward. Everyone is looking for one of them.



‘I’d imagine the Hooper thing would rumble on but whether we could tempt him back or not I don’t know.



‘I don’t like talking about a player who’s under contract at another club. But we think very highly of Gary put it that way.



‘Whether we could do a deal he or the club would entertain, I don’t know.



‘It would be nice to have him back but I think we’ll be a long way off that I’d imagine.’



The Premiership champions have tried for a raft of big-money strikers in the last 12 months, launching bids for Artjoms Rudnevs and Greek Konstantinos Mitroglou while developing an interest in Scotland striker Steven Fletcher.



Fanciful: Manager Neil Lennon admitted that Hooper is the sort of striker who would interest the club

Leigh Griffiths and Anthony Stokes have forged a productive partnership since January, but with Georgios Samaras heading out, Lennon admits he still wants an injection of quality up front.



‘It would give you a comfort at times - but they cost money and are hard to find,’ he admitted.



‘We’re going to lose Samaras who is proven at that level, so I’m going to find a good player to replace him, whether it’s a centre-forward or someone similar to Samaras.



‘I think the money is there. If we think he’s a good player and there’s a resaleable value then I think the club would be prepared to commit.



‘But the majority of players worth that amount of money go elsewhere. That’s the reality.’



Lennon is planning a trip to the World Cup in Brazil and wants business done before pre-season training resumes on June 24 if possible.



‘Ideally, yes,’ he continued. ‘If they go to the World Cup, you could lose control of it.



‘We got Virgil (van Dijk) in early last year, if we could do that again then great.



‘We’ve got a wee bit longer break this year but we’re back in on June 24, so I’ d hope we’d have a couple in by then.’



Impressive: Leigh Griffiths has scored plenty of goals this season but doubts remain about his class at the top

Lennon will meet chief executive Peter Lawwell next week for talks, but admits he has no idea how much he may have to spend in the summer.



‘We don’t deal with budgets,’ he said. ‘I haven’t even had the opportunity to sit down with Peter yet.



‘We talk on the phone but I’ll go and see him next week sometime and talk at length.



‘The preparations are in order, it’s just about personnel, who might be going and who we might bring in.



‘We are looking at players but we haven’t pushed the button on any. I was away last week looking at players and I’m hoping to get out again this week.



‘John (Park) has a list as long as your arm then players come up out of the blue now and again.

