SHAUN MALONEY could find himself on his way to Aston Villa today if the English club can agree a fee with Celtic.

The Scottish Player and Young Player of the Year is believed to have agreed a pre-contract agreement with Villa after months of negotiations with the SPL champions failed to bring about a deal.

Now Martin O'Neill is expected to make an offer for the immediate release of the 24-year-old rather than wait until the end of the season and sign the player for free when his contract expires.

Celtic fans will be bitterly disappointed to see their club fail to retain Maloney on the same day they lost out to Old Firm rivals Rangers in the race to sign Hibs' Kevin Thomson.

Chief executive Peter Lawwell has been working on both deals for some time and the fans will now wonder why he failed to secure the futures of two of the most talented young players in the country.

Even though they hold a 19-point lead in the SPL, boss Gordon Strachan was looking to the future and he will be just as frustrated as the fans.

Maloney has been holding out for a major contract, thought to be in excess of £20,000-a-week. But, after repeated attempts to put pen to paper, and an apparent willingness from both parties, it failed to reach a conclusion.

Now Celtic's loss would appear to be Villa's gain and O'Neill could make an offer of around £400,000 to have the player in place tonight.

Maloney, who has played only 90 minutes of football on two occasions this season, would also prefer to make a fresh start rather than possibly becoming a target for the fans. But the bottom line is Villa came up with a financial package Celtic were unwilling to offer and Rangers put in a higher cash bid for Thomson - which is why neither player will be at Parkhead next term.

It has been suggested Celtic could now make moves for Paul Hartley, although Rangers manager Walter Smith appears to be in pole position for his signature today as well.

Hamilton superkid James McCarthy could be a target for the future.

Celtic have knocked back offers from English clubs, including Southampton, to take Derek Riordan and Craig Beattie on loan.

Stilian Petrov once again denied rumours he is looking for a return to Parkhead after a difficult start to life at Villa following his £8m transfer earlier in the season.

And Shunsuke Nakamura today denied reports in his homeland he would be quitting Celtic at the end of the season to return to Japan.

The gifted midfielder was quoted as saying he was keen to play in the J-League when he was still at his best - but the Japanese international insisted that wasn't the case.

Nakamura said: "I will not go back to Japan this summer. I just said I want to play in Japan someday, probably at the end of my career.

"Many foreign players hope they play in their country at the end of their career, don't they?

"I might go back to Japan when I am 35. I don't know exactly it will happen, but it won't be this summer.

"Celtic are at the top of the SPL just now so we will have the chance to play in the Champions League next again season."

On the plus side for Celtic, Mark Wilson has returned to full training after missing the last five weeks with a knee injury.