Hull City are believed to be lining up a second bid for the Celtic striker Gary Hooper.
The Englishman has told the Parkhead club that he wants to leave the club this summer and it is expected he will be granted that wish if an offer in the region of £5m is received, given that he has only one year left of his existing contract.
Hull had an offer of a shade more than £4m knocked back earlier this month, but are now prepared to up their price to get the striker who has scored 31 goals last season.
Nottingham Forest and Reading enquired about Hooper this month, but the striker wants a move to the Barclays Premier League. Hull are in stalemate with Burnley over Charlie Austin and it is believed Steve Bruce has now decided to turn his attentions back to the Celtic striker.
Confusion continues to surround Victor Wanyama's protracted departure after an agent representing the Kenyan midfielder said that the player will not be signing for Southampton. The champions accepted a bid for the 21-year-old, believed to be in excess of £12m and it was thought a deal would be concluded swiftly. However, Ivan Modia, acting for Wanyama, says talks with the Barclays Premier League club are at an end.
"We are not in talks with Southampton and have not been since their final offer of terms, which was more than two weeks ago," he said. "To suggest we are talking with Southampton is totally false; their offer was way below Victor's expectations..
"The player will not be forced into a corner to accept the Southampton deal, just because it is good for Celtic. Remember, he has been with the club for two years now – without a pay rise – and has given them wonderful service. Added to this is the fact that, by Celtic refusing him permission to join Queens Park Rangers last summer, Victor lost more than £1m in potential salary earnings – yet he just kept his mouth shut and continued to be a model professional."
A Celtic spokesperson said: "[The club] carries out its business with integrity, we work to the highest standards and in the interests of the club, our supporters and indeed our players. We do not need to comment any further on this matter."
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