Where ex-Sheffield Wednesday star Gary Hooper is playing now may surprise you | OneFootball

Former Sheffield Wednesday striker Gary Hooper's move to non-league side Kettering Town will raise eyebrows at Hillsborough.

It is fair to say that Sheffield Wednesday have had a mixed record of signing strikers during owner Dejphon Chansiri's reign, but the deal to bring Gary Hooper to Hillsborough was a huge success.

Hooper initially joined Wednesday on loan from Norwich City in October 2015, but that came after a lengthy transfer pursuit, during which the player was forced to deny claims that the collapse of the deal in the summer transfer window was due to a disagreement over giving him a VIP box.

Thankfully for the Owls, Hooper was certainly worth the wait, and after he scored six goals and registered one assist in 12 games during his loan spell, the move was made permanent in January 2016.

Hooper was part of the Wednesday squad that twice came close to promotion to the Premier League under Carlos Carvalhal, and while he was plagued by injury in the final year of his time in South Yorkshire, that has done little to damage his legacy at the club.

In total, Hooper scored 31 goals and registered 12 assists in 89 games for the club, meaning that he will forever have a place in the hearts of Owls supporters, but they may be surprised by his career moves in recent years.

Gary Hooper's post-Sheffield Wednesday career

Hooper had only recently returned from 15 months on the sidelines when he was released by Wednesday in the summer of 2019, so Championship clubs would likely have had reservations about offering him a contract, despite his strong goalscoring record in the second tier.

As it turned out, Hooper's departure from Hillsborough marked the end of his time at the higher levels of English football, and he joined Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand in October 2019.

Hooper scored nine goals and registered five assists in 22 games for Wellington Phoenix, and he helped them to the best season in their history as they finished third in the A-League.

The 36-year-old then made the move to Indian side Kerala Blasters in September 2020, scoring five goals and providing four assists in 18 appearances before returning to Wellington Phoenix the following summer.

Hooper's second spell in New Zealand was not quite as successful as his first, and after his contract was terminated a year early, his next destination was Cypriot side Omonia, who were managed by his former Celtic boss Neil Lennon.

After just 14 appearances for Omonia, Hooper made the move to Gulf United in Dubai before returning to English football last October as he joined National League side Barnet.

Hooper's time with the Bees got off to a decent start as he scored two goals in his first 10 games, but mysteriously, he did not make a single appearance from December onwards and was released at the end of the campaign.

Gary Hooper's Kettering Town move will shock Sheffield Wednesday supporters

Many would have assumed that Hooper's playing career was over after his sudden disappearance at Barnet, but the striker made yet another intriguing move as he joined Southern League Premier Division Central side Kettering Town in October.

While Kettering may look like a strange move on paper for Hooper, it seems as though he has joined quite an exciting project at Latimer Park, with the club currently competing for promotion back to the National League North.

The Poppies finished 15th in the table last season, but manager Richard Lavery has transformed their fortunes this campaign, and Hooper is the third high-profile striker to join the club after the arrivals of Nile Ranger and Marvin Sordell.

Hooper did not take long to make an impact in a Kettering shirt as he scored just five minutes into his debut after coming off the bench in the 2-0 win over promotion rivals Stourbridge.

The former Wednesday man has since helped Lavery's men continue their title challenge, while he was also involved in a memorable FA Cup occasion as Kettering knocked local rivals Northampton Town of League One out of the competition in the first round after a 2-1 win at Sixfields in early November.