I haven't read Lennon's comments, but from what I've read here, I would think that Lennon is extremely worried about losing Hooper, by making public statements to suggest how important Hooper is to his team. If the Celtic board are listening to their manager, they will realise that Lennon is suggesting very hard that they back him. It also suggests that behind the scenes, the Celtic board are negotiating Hooper's possible transfer, very much against the wishes of Lennon. However, Hooper isn't worth £30M, any more than Carroll was worth £35M. In as much as any player is worth anything, I would say both players are somewhere sub £10M. Hooper, not being proven in an equivalent quality league to the PL, has to be worth less than £5 or 6M, unless he is truly exceptional, like Rhodes is for League One.