Maloney Out, Hartley In at Parkhead

By Aidan Begley

Showcasing not only their dominance over Rangers in the Scottish Premier League, Celtic also showed their determination and drawing power in the transfer market, when they clinched the signing of Hearts midfielder Paul Hartley from under the noses of their arch-rivals from the other side of Glasgow.
The 30-year-old became the second player to leave Tynecastle and move to Parkhead in a matter of months when Hartley joined from the Edinburgh club for £1million after agreeing a two-and-a-half year deal with the SPL leaders.
He is also the second player to leave Hearts after speaking out over the running of the club by its owners. The first person was Steven Pressley, who also left Hearts for a move to Celtic where he will now link-up with his former team-mate.
Whilst one came in, another moved out as Shaun Maloney exited Celtic to link-up with former Bhoys boss Martin O’Neill at Villa Park also in a £1million deal, a mere 15 minutes before the January transfer window closed, giving O’Neill his third signing of the window after securing the services of Ashley Young and John Carew earlier in January.
The 24-year-old Scotland international Maloney will also be reunited with midfielder Stiliyan Petrov, who moved from the Bhoys to Villa in August for £6million, plus veteran striker Chris Sutton, who is currently sidelined with blurred vision.
Maloney’s transfer fee is only a fraction of that paid for Petrov because he was out of contract with Celtic in the summer after refusing to sign a new long term deal believed to be worth around £18,000 a week, instead, he can now expect to pick-up in the region of £25,000 a week as part of his new deal.
Celtic also allowed 22-year-old reserve-team captain Paul Lawson, a midfielder, to join St Mirren on loan until the end of the season.
Aston Villa boss, Martin O’Neill said that he was confident in the abilities that Malony possesses having seen him rise through the ranks of Parkhead before giving him his debut for the hoops four years ago
“We were very encouraged with the way it went and we knew Shaun wanted to come to sign. We agreed everything with Celtic, which was obviously pleasing and then it was simply a race against time,” said O’Neill, referring to the eleventh hour signing.
“He is a very decent player, not only in his time at Celtic, but he has done excellently in the last couple of seasons. He was out of contract in the summer and we left it late before we even went in for him because I thought he would sign a new contract at Celtic. But we had the chance, he wanted to take it and he wanted to do it.
“Shaun actually came on as a very young substitute in the UEFA Cup final in 2003 and that shows how highly I think of him.
“When Henrik Larsson had a face injury, with a depressed fracture of the cheekbone, and was out for four or five weeks Malony came in and played alongside Chris Sutton at centre forward. He scored during the UEFA Cup run.
“He’s an excellent player and I think he is as conscientious as they come. He will be a big asset to this club, of that I have no doubt.”
Celtic manager, Gordon Strachan, was philosophical about Malony’s departure, instead looking forward to the rest of the season with the hoops still in top spot at the top of the SPL with a commanding lead over nearest challengers, Rangers.
“Shaun had the chance to stay, but in the end, the draw of playing in the Premiership became too much for him. We risked losing him for nothing in the summer so it seemed only right to try and get something for him now whilst we had the chance.
“He’s gone now, so best of luck to him, but we can’t stand around crying, I’ve got a new player in Paul Hartley which I’m delighted with. He’ll add an extra something in midfield and is also a fresh pair of legs to the side as we’re still in the Champion’s League and the Scottish Cup and still in a good position in the league.
“I’m now looking forward to getting the guys together and getting ready for the AC Milan game, and you can imagine how delighted I was when I saw that they’d signed Ronaldo. Let’s hope he’s still somewhat rounded when we play them,” joked Strachan in reference to the Brazilian striker’s well publicised weight problem.
Meanwhile, new signing Paul Hartley revealed that playing for Celtic would be a dream come true for him and he couldn’t wait to turn out for the club.
“I supported Celtic as a child, and still do, so to be able to play for them will be fantastic. I am here to win honours with them and I’m confident that with the talented group of players that we have and the strong position that we are in the SPL, then this will happen sooner rather than later.”