Skipping south: Scott McDonald could be on his way to Middlesbrough after a fee for his services was agreed with Celtic.
Scott McDonald will head for signing talks with Middlesbrough on Sunday. STV Sport understands that Celtic have agreed a transfer fee with Boro the Australian striker, who has been with the club since 2007 after joining from Motherwell.
McDonald, who has scored 65 times in 126 appearances for the Hoops, has been known to have designs on playing in England again, having had unsuccessful spells with Southampton and Wimbledon in his earlier career.
His former boss Gordon Strachan now wants to take the player with him to the English Championship, although that move could yet be scuppered by Premier League club West Ham, who expressed an interest in McDonald on Friday.
If he agrees terms with Boro, McDonald will follow in the footsteps of former team mates Barry Robson, Willo Flood, Stephen McManus and Chris Killen in heading for the Riverside Stadium in the January transfer window to join the promotion chasing side.
Celtic boss Tony Mowbray said on Friday that he wanted to keep McDonald but, having sold Danny Fox this window despite being a first team regular, has been shown to not being averse to moving on his top players if the price is right.
"If Scott's still here on Tuesday, when we play Kilmarnock, I'll be delighted,” said Mowbray. "I want Scott to stay with us because he's Celtic's top scorer and makes an enormous contribution to the club.
"There's never been any evidence of a disagreement between us. Scott's a sensible, likeable boy and we've never had a cross word.
"There's either harmony or disharmony between a player and a manager and I'd say the two of us get on fine. I'm certainly not pushing Scott out of the club because I appreciate him too much."
Cardiff City’s Ross McCormack, Fulham’s Diomansy Kamara and Valerenga’s Mohammed Abdellaoue have all been linked with a last-minute move to Celtic to replace McDonald. His place in the Celtic side is also under threat from recent signing Morten Rasmussen, who scored on his second appearance for Mowbray’s side in a 1-0 win at Hamilton on Saturday.
Having moved to England in 2000 to play with Southampton, McDonald spent time on loan with Huddersfield Town and Bournemouth before an unsuccessful move to Wimbledon.
After failed trials at Dundee United and Livingston, Motherwell offered him the chance to get his career up and running and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands, scoring 42 times for the Steelmen over four years at Fir Park before Celtic came calling.
He has also gone on to represent his country 15 times, making his debt in an Asian Cup qualifier with Bahrain in 2006. To date, he has yet to find the net for the Socceroos.
