Aston Villa have been linked with a move for striker Gary Hooper.
Aston Villa head into the Championship playoff final against Derby County in a matter of days, with Dean Smith looking to take his boyhood club back to the Premier League.
Villa will be favourites to go up, but with their fate still unknown, any transfer plans for this summer are likely to have been shelved.
Still, players are being linked with a move to Villa Park, and The Sun claim that Villa are interested in signing free agent striker Gary Hooper this summer.
Hooper, 31, has just been released by Steve Bruce at Sheffield Wednesday, bringing an end to an injury-hit spell at Hillsborough, in which he scored 31 goals in 89 games.
Hooper still has some goals in him, but those injury woes have been a major problem, and he’d be a really underwhelming signing for Villa no matter what division they’re in next season.
If Villa go up to the Premier League, signing Hooper really wouldn’t make sense, even if Tammy Abraham doesn’t return. With Premier League money and ambition of re-establishing the club in the top flight, landing an ageing, injury-prone Hooper for free wouldn’t send out the best message.
Even if they miss out, Hooper may not be the man to fire Villa back to the top flight, as it’s fair to say that he’s no longer the player that became a hero at Celtic between 2010 and 2014.
Villa fans wouldn’t really be impressed at signing a player cast aside by former boss Bruce anyway, and regardless of Villa’s promotion fate, Hooper simply shouldn’t be on their radar.
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