Celtic want Ireland for Old Firm derby
Published 23:00 20/12/10 By Alan Nixon
Celtic want to sign Aston Villa rebel Stephen Ireland on loan - and in time to make a dramatic debut against Rangers in the Old Firm derby.
Neil Lennon’s club are first in the queue for the extrovert midfielder and their backers are prepared to pay Villa around £40,000-a-week to take Ireland for the second half of the season.
The Glasgow giants would like Ireland to join immediately to get him ready for the big game with their title rivals, with negotiations moving on quickly.
Villa would like to sell Ireland or let him go to a club on loan who guarantee they will take him off their hands. However Celtic are looking for a quick answer rather than waiting until the end of the window.
Ireland is willing to go to the SPL and restore his reputation after an ill-fated transfer to Villa, a deal pushed through when they were managerless and before Gerard Houllier took the helm.
Celtic’s Irish financiers are willing to foot the bill for Ireland in the way they did with Robbie Keane a year ago. That move did not work out in terms of winning the title, but they wants as many games as possible from Ireland.
