Norwich City have signed Celtic striker Gary Hooper for a reported £5 million, with the Englishman signing a three-year deal with an option for a further year.
With one year left on his contract at Celtic, the club accepted bids from Queen Park Rangers before Norwich made an 11th hour bid to sign the player from under Harry Redknapp’s nose.
Norwich had tried to sign Hooper in January for a fee of around £7 million, but Celtic rejected their advances to keep the striker for the remainder of the season.
Speaking to the official Norwich website, Hooper said: “There’s been a lot of speculation going back to January and I’m pleased to have finally put pen to paper and joined Norwich. I can’t wait to get down to work, to get training with the lads and working with the coaching staff. I knew Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood from my youth days at Spurs so it will be great to be back working with them in the Premier League.
“I have scored goals at every level I have played at and the challenge of playing in the Premier League is really exciting to me.”
Hooper’s last game for Celtic was a brief substitute appearance against Cliftonville in their Champions League qualifier on Tuesday night.
After departing Glasgow, Hooper said: “I just want to thank everyone up there for the past few years – the fans have been fantastic to me and the club have really looked after me.”
Hooper moved to Celtic from Scunthorpe United in 2010, after scoring 19 goals in 35 games in the English championship. His time at Celtic saw him play 137 times for the club and scoring 82 times in all competitions.
