The manager of one of Sheffield Wednesday’s Yorkshire rivals has distanced his side from a move for a player the Owls released at the end of last season.
The Hull boss Grant McCann has admitted that he is looking at the free-agent market for attacking reinforcements.
And having played with McCann at Scunthorpe earlier in his career, the name of one ex-Owl has been doing the rounds this week.
But asked if is interested in bringing Gary Hooper to the KCOM Stadium, McCann told Hull Live: “There’s always going to be people putting two and two together and coming up with six.
“Hooper is a player that me and Cliff (Byrne) played with.
“We know what he’s about and that’s probably where the link has come from.”
Hooper spent three-and-a-half years at Sheffield Wednesday, scoring or assisting 43 goals in 89 games.
The 31-year-old spent much of his Hillsborough spell sidelined through injury, but had recently returned to full health at the time of his release in May.
His departure came as a blow to many Wednesday supporters, who felt that his quality outweighed any fitness or financial concerns.
Hull have lost a trio of strikers, but only gained two, since the end of last season.