WHEN Neil Lennon described Gary Hooper yesterday as the best striker Celtic have had since Henrik Larsson, the natural reaction was to rack the brain in an attempt to recall all of those who have been around in the intervening years.

Most notable among them have been John Hartson, Maciej Zurawski, Kenny Miller, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Scott McDonald, Georgios Samaras, Anthony Stokes and, briefly, Craig Bellamy and Robbie Keane. Chris Sutton also played later than Larsson but seems more his contemporary than a successor.

Hooper better than Hartson, Bellamy or Keane? It is high praise, and the Celtic manager undoubtedly holds Hooper in the highest regard. There is also an argument to be made for the Hooper signing being the best piece of management Lennon has demonstrated in the three years he has been in charge.

Ki Sung-Yueng and Victor Wanyama were sold on for multiples of what they cost (Norwich City's fee for Hooper is around double what Celtic paid for him) but what makes the Englishman's emergence so admirable is the fact Lennon brought him from one of the most heavily-scouted leagues in Europe, the English Championship.

Every major club was aware of Hooper and either thought him flawed, unworthy of a bid, or not worth the wages and personal terms Celtic came up with to persuade him to sign from Scunthorpe in 2010.

Lennon saw Hooper grow into a prolific goalscorer – he netted 82 times in three seasons – and someone he could count on in big European matches, Old Firm fixtures and cup finals. Hooper's Celtic form took him as close to the England squad as any striker playing in Scottish football is likely to get. "I'm sorry to see him go but he wants to play in the Premier League and he's got that wish," Lennon said. "His ambition is to try to break into the England squad and he has an opportunity maybe to be more in touch with the England manager now. [Hooper] told me [his intentions] in Germany on pre-season. It was the first time he'd really opened up about the whole thing. He's always been an honest kid.

"Obviously the Premier League is a far better environment than the Championship would have been [a fee for Hooper was also agreed with QPR]. There's a good manager at Norwich, they've bought well already and it looks like they're going to be a bit more attack-minded this season. It might suit him.

"I wish him well. I think he's the best striker we've had here since Henrik. He did everything I asked of him. He came in, scored a load of goals, won trophies, made us better and now there's been huge re-sale value in him. It was always going to be the case, although we didn't have to, that we were going to sell. And when you get the offers of the magnitude of [Southampton's for Victor] Wanyama and obviously with Gary having a year left on his contract it made a lot of sense considering the kid wasn't really pushing buttons to stay.

"It's not always the case that we have to sell or we want to sell but when it's really good business for us then it's sensible to do that. We have to safeguard the future of the club. We might not always get Champions League football, we know how difficult the economic climate is. We're pleased with where we are, I think we've achieved a lot in the last three or four years and we just want to build on that."

Lennon will be absent when Celtic face Borussia Monchengladbach in a Parkhead friendly this afternoon. While a strong Celtic team will be selected against the side which finished eighth in the Bundesliga last season – Scott Brown, Kris Commons, Joe Ledley, Adam Matthews and Stokes will all play at least a part of the match – the manager will watch Elfsborg in their league game away to Atvidabergs FF. The trip will be the equivalent of a student cramming for an exam, given the Swedish league leaders will arrive at Parkhead for the Champions League third qualifying round tie's first leg on Wednesday.

Peter Lawwell, Celtic's chief executive has liaised with Elfsborg about whether Mo Bangura – on loan with the Swedes – will play against his parent club contrary to Lennon's wishes, although the manager remained unclear on their intentions yesterday.

Meanwhile, Lennon echoed a statement released by Celtic on Thursday which warned the Green Brigade group of fans that their chosen part of the ground, Section 111, will be closed if there is further crowd disorder. Fireworks were discharged there during the midweek defeat of Cliftonville, resulting in Celtic facing a UEFA disciplinary charge, and it is the latest in a number of incidents which have concerned the club's security advisors. "I think the club's motivation more than anything is safety within the ground," Lennon said. "At the end of the day the club will be responsible if anything happens. You see the bodysurfing [a supporter being passed over the heads of others] and you know it only takes one person to get critically injured and the buck stops with the club.

"We want them to come to the games, we want them to enjoy themselves, but there are safety guidelines they need to adhere to. I am not a fan of fireworks in a football ground – I think they're dangerous – and I am not a fan of flares being thrown on to the pitch either. I don't think they achieve anything and they are counter-productive."

Celtic have made a fortune from their European run and selling star players, but falling foul of UEFA is something they can't afford.