O`NEILL JOINS THOMPSON CHASE

Thompson, 26, had been a target of Premiership Sunderland - Click here for Story - but O`Neill now looks set to intervene and make a £3 million bid for the former Bolton schemer.

Villa boss John Gregory made Thompson his first signing after taking over at Villa Park and paid Bolton £4.5 million for his services, but the free kick specialist has failed to settle in the Midlands and would relish a move to Parkhead.

Another O`Neill target Chris Sutton, is reportedly set to make the switch from London to Glasgow.

According to reports in Scotland, The Chelsea frontman is set to reject an offer from Middlesbrough in favour of a move North of the border.

Meanwhile, Celtic`s bid for Belgian defender looks doomed to failure after, as reported first by planetfootball.com, his club Roda insisted on £6 million.

This is the figure that Arsenal have bid in the past and it has always been the case that any bid below this figure was doomed to failure.

"Yes, Celtic have made an offer but it was not good enough." said Roda president Noel Hendricks speaking to the Daily Record. "The discussions will continue and maybe they will come back with a price we can agree on.

"We have to give them some time to decide what they want to do next but, at the moment, the offer is just not enough."