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Wellington Phoenix has confirmed that star forward Gary Hooper will not return to the A-League club after the expiration of his 12-month contract.
The clinical Englishman, who had his season interrupted by a hamstring injury, has been strongly linked with a move to the Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters.
Possibly the most important signing in Phoenix’s relatively short history, the former Celtic and Premier League star scored eight goals and recorded four assists in 21 appearances, scoring at the rate of one goal every 138.1 minutes.
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Hooper’s accuracy in front of goal was greatly lost in last month’s final elimination loss to Perth Glory, but as the highest-paid player on the list, his departure comes as no surprise given the financial impact Covid-19 is having on. the club.
The 32-year-old is the third player to leave Phoenix since the 2019-20 season ended, after Liberato Cacace and Callum McCowatt moved to Sint-Truiden in Belgium and Helsingør in Denmark.
