Celtic break even after £1m deals

CELTIC last night pipped Rangers to the £1.1m transfer of Paul Hartley and recouped the outlay immediately after Aston Villa paid £1m for Shaun Maloney.

The Scottish champions had the final say in a dramatic last 48 hours of the transfer window, signing Hartley on a two-and-a-half year contract with an option of a further year. With only minutes to spare before the midnight deadline expired, Peter Lawwell, the Celtic chief executive, accepted an irresistible offer from the Premiership side that completed a shrewd day of transfer business.

Maloney, who would have been a free agent in the summer, travelled to Newcastle yesterday to watch his new club but after signing a pre-contract agreement, completed a permanent three-and-a-half year move to the Midlands.

Martin O'Neill last night lauded his arrival. "Shaun is a conscientious lad and a very good player. What he lacks in height he makes up for in ability and character," said O'Neill. "He did very well for Celtic before and after I left and I am sure he will be a good acquisition."

It is understood O'Neill had tried to offer Jlloyd Samuel as part of the deal but this was instantly rejected by Celtic. Samuel is out of contract at the Midlands club at the end of the season and O'Neill was keen to use the left-back as a makeweight. Gordon Strachan, the Celtic manager, though, is happy with the fine form of Lee Naylor at in that position and has also recently signed Jean-Joel Perrier Doumbe, the Cameroon defender, to provide him with experienced cover on the defensive flanks.

Celtic moved quickly to sign Hartley after their Old Firm rivals usurped their long-term interest in the Hibernian pair, Kevin Thomson and Scott Brown. Thomson arrived at Ibrox on Wednesday in a £2m deal, despite his agent, Willie McKay, insisting both would join Celtic. Brown will now join his former team-mate in the summer after Rangers and Hibs agreed a £3m fee that will take the total outlay to £5m.

Rangers had bids of both £750,000 and £800,000 for Hartley rejected by Hearts on Tuesday evening and returned with an improved offer of £1m yesterday morning. David Murray, the Rangers chairman, was confident Hartley would sign but the emotional pull proved too strong for the 30-year-old when Celtic made their pitch. He joins Steven Pressley, his former Hearts team-mate, at Parkhead and becomes Strachan's final signing of the window.

Mark Brown, the former Inverness Caledonian Thistle goalkeeper, has also been added to the ranks, with young midfielder Paul Lawson joining St Mirren on loan until May.

Hartley will be ineligible for the Champions League tie against AC Milan, having played in the qualifiers for Hearts, but will add drive and creativity to an already well-stocked midfield contingent at Parkhead as the club seeks to claim a domestic double. He is available for the remainder of Celtic's Tennent's Scottish Cup campaign, having been suspended for Hearts' third-round tie against Stranraer.

Celtic confirmed their new acquisition in a statement last night, with Hartley to be officially presented to the media this afternoon.

"Celtic are delighted to announce that Paul Hartley has completed his move to the Scottish champions. The player has signed a two-and-a-half year deal, with Celtic having the option of a further year.

"The 30-year-old midfielder has been one of the most consistent players in the Scottish Premierleague over the past few seasons and will only serve to further strengthen Gordon Strachan's squad."

Two other former Celtic targets were also on the move. Zdravko Kuzmanovic has joined Italian club Fiorentina for an undisclosed fee after the Parkhead club had a £1m offer for the 19-year-old midfielder rejected by FC Basel a fortnight ago. Kuzmanovic had previously been poised to join Palermo but the Sicilian club backed out of the deal after turning down the player's £1m-a-year contract demands.

Geoff Horsfield, whom Strachan had considered as a short-term addition to his striking options, left Sheffield United to join Leicester City on loan for the remainder of the season.

Hartley's departure was not the only piece of transfer business to involve Hearts yesterday. The Tynecastle club rejected a £2.5m offer for Craig Gordon from Spartak Moscow after owner Vladimir Romanov had attempted to encourage interest in the Scotland goalkeeper during a visit to the Russian capital this week.

Three more Lithuanians also joined the Tynecastle ranks from FB Kaunas yesterday. Linas Pilibaitis, a striker, joined his former Kaunas captain, Tomas Kancelskis, and goalkeeper Arnus Lekevicius with all three signing on loan until the end of the season. Laryea Kingston, the Ghanian internationalist, also finally agreed a loan deal from Terek Grozny. "I want to win cups with Hearts," said Kingston.

By DARRYL BROADFOOT and MARK WILSON

Taken from the Herald