O'Neill bound for Riverside

Irish international winger Keith O'Neill is expected at the Riverside Stadium over the next day or so to put the finishing touches to his move from first division Norwich to Premiership Middlesbrough.

O'Neill, who has been a constant subject of transfer speculation over the past couple of seasons, was only told by his agents, one of whom is Kevin Moran, at four o'clock yesterday afternoon that the move looked likely to go through. By last night he was simply waiting to see when he could complete the deal with Middlesbrough manager Bryan Robson.

"The situation at the moment," said O'Neill, "is that the two clubs have agreed a fee and my agents have more or less agreed personal terms, so it's really just a question of me going up there to sign either tomorrow or the day after."

The size of the fee has not been disclosed, but as the Dubliner's contract at Carrow Road was due to run out in the summer when the 23 year-old would have become a free agent, it is likely to be well short of the £2 million which Norwich manager Bruce Rioch is rumoured to have turned down for O'Neill earlier this season.

Southampton was one of the clubs chasing his signature then, and O'Neill said last night that there had been a few others since, but that he is delighted to have secured a move to the Riverside where he will link up with fellow Irish internationals Andy Townsend and Curtis Fleming. "I'm delighted that it's Middlesbrough. It's a great club with a great manager and I'm really looking forward to it," said O'Neill who is hoping that, if all of the loose ends can be tied up in time.

Reports in the British media yesterday stated that the move was initiated at the weekend after Robson and his assistant, Viv Anderson, watched O'Neill play for Norwich against Bradford.

In fact, it is believed to have been on the cards for some time, with Norwich holding off on the deal so as to be sure of getting some sort of fee for the player. As O'Neill is under 24, Norwich would have been entitled to a fee for him from another English club even when his contract was up. However, the threat of him moving to the Continent forced Rioch's hand.

"There were a couple of clubs from overseas that had expressed an interest," said O'Neill, "and a move like that would have been a lot more likely if the transfer deadline had passed. It probably would have meant more money, too, but at this stage in my career the Premiership is the place to play and so I'm thrilled that it's worked out the way it has.

"It's important, too, that it's just sorted out," he added. "I needed to know where I was going, what direction my career was going in. Now that I do know, I can concentrate on my football without anything hanging over me." The move is likely to be greeted warmly by Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy, who is in Dublin this morning to announce his squad for the forthcoming European Championship qualifier against Macedonia. McCarthy has constantly said that he would like as many as possible of his panel to be involved at the highest level.

Despite the succession of injury problems that have so far prevented O'Neill from making a greater impact on the Irish set-up, McCarthy has made it clear that he rates him highly.

Meanwhile, wolves will decide after a board meeting later this week whether to allow striker Robbie Keane to join the Republic Of Ireland's squad at the World Under-20 Championships in Nigeria next month.

Keane, top scorer at Molineux this season with 16 goals, is a regular in Mick McCarthy's senior Irish squad despite still being only 18.

"Every English club that has players involved has a big concern about the tournament and quite rightly so," said manager Colin Lee. "It is down to the club to make the decision on how we address the situation. Our managing director, John Richards, will speak to the board and between them they will make a decision."Meanwhile, Celtic yesterday announced that Allan MacDonald OBE will succeed Fergus McCann as chief executive when he steps down from the post at the end of the season. MacDonald (47), currently managing director of British Aerospace interests in Asia and Africa, will join the Celtic plc and football club boards initially as a director, but will continue to work with British Aerospace when required until June 30th.

Ghana and Nigeria will co-host the 2000 African Nations Cup, the African Football Confederation (CAF). The West African countries replace Zimbabwe, who failed to meet stadia and financial targets, in staging the 16-team event from January 23rd to February 13th.