 After Southampton had won promotion to the Premier League there was speculation linking them with a £7m for Hooper at the start of the 2012–13 season.However, Hooper stated that he was happy at Celtic and was looking forward to playing Champions League football.On 1 August 2012, Hooper started the season in scoring form, in Celtic's 2–1 victory against HJK Helsinki in the first leg of the Champions League Third Qualifying Round.