A move away from Carrow Road for Gary Hooper failed to materialise yesterday during transfer deadline day.

The 27-year-old former Celtic striker was said to have been close to a loan switch to Fulham, but with Norwich’s failure to land a striker before the 6pm deadline, Hooper is forced to stay with the Canaries until at least January.

With flop signing Ricky van Wolfswinkel being loaned to La Liga side Real Betis the previous day, Norwich could ill afford to allow another striker to depart the club without first securing a replacement.

Norwich could not afford another departure

His teammate Lewis Grabban was also seeking a move away from the club, with his former side Bournemouth showing interest in re-signing him on loan.

But as with Hooper, Grabban’s move away from East Anglia was blocked after the failure to bring in another forward.

The most notable target for manager Alex Neil was Stoke City’s Jonathan Walters, with the Republic of Ireland international submitting a formal transfer request at the Britannia Stadium. However a few was not agreed between the two clubs and the deal fell through.

Neil had also been in pursuit of Wolves forward Benik Afobe, but failed to entice the Championship side into accepting one of their three bids for the striker.

Wednesday fail in late bid

Former Scunthorpe United hotshot Hooper, who moved to Celtic in a £2.5million deal in 2010, was said to have been close to a loan move to Championship outfit Sheffield Wednesday, with the Owls offering to pay his £35,000 a week salary, and a £500,000 loan fee, which was accepted.

However, reports in Yorkshire say that the deal collapsed after Wednesday refused to hand him a VIP box for his family to come and watch him play. The VIP box in question costs £30,000 a year.

The loan window in the Football League opens in the near future, so the possibility of Hooper leaving is still there. But with Norwich being unable to sign a replacement until January, that seems unlikely.

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About the author
Rhys Tompkins
Aspiring football writer. Football League writer for VAVEL UK.