Celtic boss Neil Lennon has denied reports that two of his strikers are to move across the border into English football this month.
Southampton have already failed with bids of £4million and £6million for Gary Hooper, while it has been reported that Wigan are interested in signing Georgios Samaras.
Lennon had said that Hooper was not for sale and told the BBC yesterday that nothing had changed.
“The stance hasn’t changed. There hasn’t been another bid [from Southampton]. The retention of all of my key players is key to winning the title and Gary certainly comes into that bracket.”
Southampton manager Nigel Adkins worked with Hooper at Scunthorpe and hopes to bring him back to the Championship to bolster the Saints attack as they look to secure promotion to the Premier League.
The striker himself, who has scored 16 goals this season, is in no rush to return to England. He told the Daily Record:
“I’m back playing now and I scored at the weekend. I don’t want to go anywhere.
I am a Celtic player and I’m very happy wining games for Celtic.”
I expect that Southampton will come back with a third bid as Hooper is their top target. Meanwhile the Daily Mail have reported that Roberto Martinez is interested in Hooper’s Celtic team-mate Samaras.
It is thought that a bid of around £2million will be enough to lure the Greek striker back to the Premier League as Wigan look to defy the odds and avoid relegation this season.
