Celtic's bid to bring Stephen Pearson to Parkhead from Motherwell hangs on the resolution of negotiations for a sell-on clause. Motherwell have a 12% sell-on agreement with Everton after selling James McFadden to the Merseysiders in August.
Now the Fir Park club are looking to include a similar clause in the deal forScotland midfielder Pearson, who is poised to move to Parkhead in a £300,000 deal.
Motherwell boss Terry Butcher had originally been looking to take a Celtic player on loan as part of the negotiations. But Butcher accepts opposite number Martin O'Neill's reluctance to allow players to leave and the sell-on clause now appears the only stumbling block.
A Fir Park spokesman said: "Discussions are continuing with Celtic."
Meanwhile, O'Neill is set to be without Johan Mjallby for up to six weeks after allowing him to undergo a tidy-up operation on his knee. Having taken a healthy 11-point lead over their arch rivals Rangers at the top of the Bank of Scotland Premier League with Saturday's derby win, O'Neill wasted no time in sending the Swedish international to hospital.
Wear and tear on the defender's right knee has led to the flaring up of a slight problem and he now has the chance to recover before the UEFA Cup campaign resumes on February 26.
Filed by Johnny Proby
