Chris Sutton tips Celtic strikers to shine
Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton insists that Anthony Stokes and Gary Hooper can forge a partnership as deadly as the one he enjoyed with Henrik Larsson.
Sutton has been part of two incredibly successful striking partnerships. His first came when he worked alongside Alan Shearer at Blackburn Rovers where the duo overwhelmed defences to help secure the English Premier League title in the 1994-95 season.
In 2000, the Englishman moved to Scotland and alongside Larsson, he scored 86 goals in 199 games. Celtic legend Larsson, meanwhile, netted 242 times in 315 games for the clubs.
That gave the pair an astonishing total of 328 goals between them for the Hoops.
Prolific strikers have been largely absent from the Celtic line-up since the pair moved on from Glasgow, but Sutton is convinced that Stokes and Hooper have it in them to become a deadly duo for the club.
Sutton sees strikers demolish Aberdeen
Sutton and Larsson were in attendance at Celtic Park on Saturday, 6 November, as Stokes and Hooper tore apart the Aberdeen defence in a 9-0 thumping. Both players netted hat-tricks in the game to take their respective goal tallies for the season to nine.
While Sutton knows that the new starlets have a way to go before they can emulate the SPL-winning feats of himself and Larsson, he is convinced that they can score the goals needed to reclaim the league championship from Rangers.
He told reporters that: "I was really impressed by both Celtic strikers, Hooper and Stokes. The link-up play involving both of them was really great and I can understand why the Celtic fans are already comparing them to the likes of myself and Henrik.
"Playing in a partnership and developing an understanding could be absolutely crucial to Celtic's hopes of regaining the SPL title from Rangers this season. Stokes and Hooper are showing signs they have developed a real understanding and are starting to gel
as a partnership. Their link-up play is good and in that respect having both of these guys in the side is a huge positive for Celtic and it is encouraging."
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