Boro boss Gordon Strachan has issued a signal of intent by offering £2.5m of his relatively small summer transfer fund on trying to lure the Scunthorpe striker to the North-East and he has also approached Dundee United about Craig Conway, Garry Kenneth and Morgaro Gomis.
A deal for Hooper is by no means certain, with Leeds United, Wigan and Wolves likely to provide competition for his services.
Derby County have also expressed an interest, while Celtic have decided not to follow up their initial calls after learning of the price Scunthorpe are demanding.
Strachan knows Leeds want to keep the player in the Championship. But it is Premier League clubs Wolves and Wigan that provide the biggest obstacles, particularly when both clubs could offer more.
Wolves are trying to do a deal with £7m-rated Steven Fletcher, but if that does not look like coming off soon then manager Mick McCarthy will turn to the cheaper alternative.
Hooper, shown around the Middlesbrough's Rockliffe Park training base last week, has 50 goals in two seasons at Glanford Park, where he moved for £175,000 in July 2008.
Thirty of those arrived last season, when Scunthorpe clinched promotion from League One through the playoffs, while he added a further 20 to help the Iron stay in the second tier this season.
Scunthorpe chairman Steve Wharton is prepared to sell but will not accept anything less than a deal worth £2.5m.
Wharton, knowing Southend are due 20 per cent of any deal, has already turned down numerous bids for a player he feels will break the club's record transfer fee received.
Strachan's decision to try to sign a £2.5m-rated striker this summer highlights he does have some money to spend, despite suggestions towards the end of the season that he would have very little.
He has already offered £400,000 for Rochdale defender Craig Dawson, with the Spotland club looking for double that initially, while he has also been quoted seven-figure prices for Hearts winger Andrew Driver and Celtic defender Stephen McManus.
Sunderland will show Simon Mignolet around their training facilities this weekend as they try to persuade the highly-rated goalkeeper to move to Wearside.
Belgium Under-21 international Mignolet is also coveted by PSV Eindhoven, although neither club has agreed a fee with his current employers, St Truidense.
Mignolet confirmed he is heading to the North-East as he ponders his next move.
He told Belgian newspaper Het Belang van Limburg: The idea is to talk to people and see the facilities. His agent, Guy Vandersmissen, added: Sunderland continue to be very interested.
But logically we will visit the club before we take further steps and talk about a contract.
We will see how Simon feels after this visit.
We stress however that PSV remain a candidate.''
Source: Northern Echo
Source: Northern Echo