Fortune prepares to seal £3.8m move to Celtic in time for Australia trip

NANCY striker Marc-Antoine Fortune looks set to be included in the Celtic squad which takes off for a pre-season trip to Australia tomorrow after being won over by the club and manager Tony Mowbray.

Fortune passed a medical and agreed terms with Celtic last night. A £3.8 million fee had earlier been agreed between the Scottish club and Nancy. The news will disappoint Fulham, Hull City and Portsmouth. All three clubs had hoped to lure Fortune after he impressed during as four-month loan-spell with West Bromwich Albion last season.

Mowbray was always confident that Fortune was attracted by the thought of playing for Celtic but feared more lucrative rival bids from English Premier League clubs might see the 28 year-old opt to make a return to England.

Fortune, however, is reported to have sacrificed as much as a £1 million in earnings in order to make the move to the Scottish Premier League. Team-mate Landry N'Guemo could also join him, with the midfielder set to tie-up a season-long loan at Parkhead.

"Unless there is a turnaround in the situation, Marc-Antoine Fortune will soon sign for Celtic," said a statement on the official Nancy website yesterday. "He will probably be joined by Landry N'Guemo, who will be the subject of a one-season loan."

Fortune was given a tour of the Celtic facilities on Monday and what he saw simply confirmed to him what he already felt - that his career would be best served by making the move to Scotland. The personal relationship struck up with Mowbray when the player was on loan at West Bromwich Albion also informed the player's decision. "I would like to think he likes the coach," said Mowbray last week.

Mowbray had been assured by Fortune that if it was strictly to be a football decision, then he would join Celtic. The manager was aware that Fortune had other, more financially rewarding options, and prepared the Celtic supporters for bad news. He also said that he could not blame the player if he chose to secure his future rather than join up with him again in Scotland.

"He now has that eternal battle between making the football decision or the financial decision," said Mowbray. "I would never judge anyone on that. It is a very difficult decision to make."

"Believe it or not, there's a lot of footballers who play for the love of the game as well as the money that goes with it.

"To play for a club fighting for championships, hoping to compete in the Champions League is a much bigger draw than taking the money sometimes and going and fighting against relegation and playing in a league when there are only really four teams who can ever compete to win that league."

Fortune's choice of Celtic over Premier League clubs in England represents a coup for Mowbray. The French striker was quickly installed as his No 1 target following his confirmation as Celtic manager last month.

Fortune and N'Guemo would be ready-made replacements for two players not offered new deals by Mowbray. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Paul Hartley, who signed for Bristol City on Monday, were told they were surplus to requirements as Mowbray looks to put his imprint on his squad. N'Guemo, 23, is a defensive midfielder and could step in for Hartley. He has been capped three times by Cameroon and made 33 appearances for Nancy last season.