Gary Hooper has admitted that English Premier League club Blackpool was interested in his services prior to him joining Celtic last year.

The 23-year old striker, who has scored 15 goals in 23 appearances for the Glasgow giants, said the Seasiders were sniffing around whilst he was at Championship club Scunthorpe United but he chose Celtic due to the fact they would be challenging for silverware.

"There were other clubs I could have joined but as soon as I heard about Celtic being interested in me my mind was made up. I knew how big the club was but when I came up I realised they were bigger than I thought," he told the Herald Scotland.

"There were a couple of little Premier League clubs interested, Blackpool and that, but they're not going to be challenging for the title, are they? Celtic are challenging in the Champions League and for the title and that's what I want. I didn't want to go anywhere else."