Celtic striker close to White Hart Lane move?
Check in to Transfer Window: Done Deal Alerts
Tottenham are leading the race to sign striker Gary Hooper from Celtic with Norwich City preparing to withdraw their interest over the asking price.
Talksport report that Tottenham are in the driving seat after expressing an interest in the 24-year-old striker, who impressed the watching Andre Villas-Boas with his two-goal performance in Celtic’s Scottish Premier League win over Dundee United earlier in the week.
Tottenham are now expected to bid around £7million to bring Hooper, who started his career as a youth team player only to be released, back to White Hart Lane this month as manager Villas-Boas looks to ease the workload on Jermaine Defoe with Emmanuel Adebayor away on international duty with Togo.
Norwich have had two bids for Hooper turned down by Celtic – the first a £5million offer and the second the same transfer fee with Welsh international Steve Morison thrown in as part of a player-plus-cash deal.
But Celtic manager Neil Lennon rejected both offers and was instead keen to hand Hooper, who graduated through the lower leagues after leaving Tottenham before joining Celtic, a new contract to keep him at Celtic Park and stave off the increasing interest from Premier League clubs.