Gary Hooper has explained what he became well ‘aware’ of while he was injured at Sheffield Wednesday.
Gary Hooper joined Sheffield Wednesday on loan for the 2015-16 season and, despite a slow start, soon became a hit.
After a goalless opening seven games, the striker went onto bag 13 goals and four assists in the Championship – including three goal contributions in a 3-0 win over Cardiff City to seal their place in the play-offs.
The Owls missed out on promotion, but Hooper went onto make a £3 million permanent switch to Hillsborough.
He went onto score 31 goals and provided 12 assists in 89 matches for Wednesday, becoming a very popular figure at the club.
Sheffield Wednesday fans were ‘really good’ and ‘really loud’
Hooper has now explained how he became ‘aware’ of the supporters’ love for him when he was sidelined through injury in his third year at the club.
Speaking to The Star, he said: “I was aware of it, I reckon, after the third year when I got injured.
“Everyone was still bigging me up, hoping for me to get back playing, and I’ve not had a bad word with any Wednesday fan. They were always really good. And Hillsborough was loud, yeah. Really good, and the fans were really loud – especially when we were winning. They were good week in and week out, home and away, it was just a good time for me.”
The Owls need another Gary Hooper
Gary Hooper never managed to finish a season as Sheffield Wednesday’s top scorer, but his 19 goals in the Championship between 2015 and 2017 played a key role in their push for promotion.
The Owls also had the likes of Fernando Forestieri and Steven Fletcher among their ranks, who both contributed a wealthy amount of their own goals.
Wednesday have managed to sure up their backline under Danny Rohl in recent months, but it is quite clear that they are going to need a goalscorer if they are to push further up the table next season.
It was reported back in January that Dejphon Chansiri was prepared to pay a lot of money for a decent striker, though that never happened.
The chairman now needs to stick to his promise if he is going to allow Rohl to reap the rewards of the club’s potential.