Mowbray hopes Fortune smiles on Hoops

Tony Mowbray hopes to make Marc-Antoine Fortune his first Celtic signing in the next 48 hours after confirming Paul Hartley and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink have left the club.

Celtic have offered the Nancy striker a contract but face competition from the likes of Hull, Portsmouth and Fulham.

Fortune worked under Mowbray during a loan spell at West Brom last season and the Celtic manager is hopeful their personal relationship will work in his favour.

“Everything is in the balance,” Mowbray told a media conference at Celtic’s Lennoxtown training ground this afternoon.

“I think it will happen naturally over the next day or two. I’ll either be sitting watching him shaking someone’s hand and holding a shirt up somewhere at an English Premier League club, or you will all come back here in a few days’ time and meet the guy yourself.”

Mowbray is working on other potential deals after releasing out-of-contract pair Hartley and Vennegoor of Hesselink.

He added: “I had a good long conversation with Paul. He came in to see me.

“The outcome of that is Paul won’t be offered a new contract. He is free to look for other employment.

“I have had no contact with Jan. Jan is out of contract – he is free to seek other employment and I’m pretty sure that’s what he will be doing at the moment.”