Celtic have completed the signing of midfielder Stephen Pearson from Motherwell. The Scotland international has joined his boyhood favourites for £350,000 after the clubs finally agreed a fee on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old should now be able to make his debut in the Tennent's Scottish Cup third round tie against Ross County tomorrow.
Pearson made his debut for Motherwell in March 2001 as a substitute in the 1-1 draw at Hibernian. He was a Scotland Under-21 international before graduating to the senior team for the Euro 2004 play-off first leg against Holland in November where he almost scored after his introduction as a substitute.
Well boss Terry Butcher reluctantly allowed the player to leave Fir Park after claiming Pearson had lost heart in playing for the Lanarkshire club. But the player was adamant he wanted to ensure Well, who are still in administration, received a fee for his services by leaving in January although the club were prepared to take their chances at a tribunal when his contract ended in the summer.
Manchester bound midfielder Liam Miller will be out for around six weeks with a groin injury which followed the surprise news that he has signed a pre-contract deal with United. Johan Mjallby is also out after undergoing minor knee surgery this week.
Provisional squad: Douglas, Pearson, Kennedy, Balde, Varga, Lennon, Maloney, Smith, Petrov, Thompson, Larsson, Sutton, Marshall, Lambert, Wallace, Crainey, Beattie, Laursen, Guppy, Hedman, Hartson, Agathe, McNamara.