Hoop's Hooper set for Hammers?

With just one game left of the current Premier League campaign, much speculation is rife as to who will sign who. Celtic ace Gary Hooper is just one of many having his name sprung around, and recent reports suggest that West Ham United could move for the striker.

West Ham have had a brilliant season after securing Premier League status, and look set to finish in a respectable 10^th after a campaign that has observed new contracts being awarded to outstanding players such as Jussi Jaaskelainen, and Winston Reid – who won the great Hammer Of The Year accolade, pipping second place Jasskelainen to the award. As well as tis, as has manager Sam Allardyce.

West Ham’s priority is said to be Andy Carroll, however with financial fair play rules set to come in, and a hefty wage set to be asked for, the Hammers may have to move for a cheaper option. Gary Hooper would suit the style of play at West Ham, both with his aerial prowess, and know of where the net is.

The Harlow born forward stands just short of 6 foot, but still has the ability to challenge effectively in the air.

The former Tottenham youth star was snapped up by Celtic after scoring 43 goals in 80 outings for Scunthorpe United – they too play in the claret and blue.

Currently, in what is known as a weaker league, Hooper has managed to find the net 63 times in his 93 appearances that too include Champions League outings.

For me, Hooper would be a great signing for West Ham; however he may not come too cheaply with Celtic rating him rather highly. Despite this, the hoops only signed the clinical finisher for £2.4 million and thus don’t have much to earn back in terms of profit.

Hooper has all the attributes to become a great player for West ham United; he is strong and can hold up the ball well as well as being a ‘fox in the box’ that we as Hammers have been gagging for since the times of Dean Ashton and Carlos Tevez lead the line.

A player of Hooper’s status may not be too hard to prize to Upton Park, as well as being a player that can really help us push forward and become a bigger and better team. The potential transfer would probably cost no more than £7m thus allowing us to buy more players to strengthen the team. Hooper is a must for us, and I would love to see him sport the claret and blue once again – but this time for West ham!

Ben Edkins (@benedkins12)