Former Kerala Blasters marksman Gary Hooper rejoins A-League outfit Wellington Phoenix

Former Norwich City and Celtics forward Gary Hooper who joined Indian Super League outfit Kerala Blasters last season has left the club. He had an underwhelming debut season in India for the Yellow Army.

Hence he has rejoined A-League outfit Wellington Phoenix, the club announced, The 33-year-old featured for the Phoenix in the 2019-20 A-League season and registered eight goals and four assists across 21 appearances. He was instrumental in their historic third-place finish in the league.

“Hooper was great for us last time he was here, he’s an imposing and influential player. He is a solid option for us upfront with his goal-scoring ability,” said Ufuk Talay, the head coach of the A-League outfit.

He further added, “Last time he joined us after the season had started, so the prospect of having him here for both the pre-season and the next two full seasons is an exciting one. We welcome ‘Hoops’ back to our squad and hope the fans are looking forward to seeing him in action for the Phoenix.”

Hooper also sounded very happy ahead of his homecoming, He said, “I’m really happy to be fair, signing a two-year deal and being back with the same staff, same manager and a lot of the same players. My family and I really like living in Wellington as well. We had a good season when I was there last, but obviously, COVID-19 messed that up a bit,” he said.

“I missed the players and the bond we had together. In that season when we came third, unluckily I got injured before the Elimination Final game. But, I remember the bond that we had, the way we played and the way the manager set us up – his system and him just letting us play football,” Hooper added.

Hooper came to Kerala Blasters with high expectations but the English forward could only manage to score five goals and provided four assists in 18 matches. He was often left alone up front and was guilty of not getting involved in his team’s attacking buildup. However, he got better as the season went on but it was overall a very disappointing season for the Kerala Blasters as they finished in the 11th spot in the points table with only three wins.

The Blasters are ready to revamp their foreigners for the upcoming season as they released the likes of Juande, Gary Hooper, Costa Nhamoinesu and others.