The 26-year-old trained with Tony Mowbray’s first-team squad at their Lennoxtown training base yesterday morning before travelling to Celtic Park to be shown around the stadium and have talks over a contract with the chief executive Peter Lawwell.
It is understood that those discussions were at an advanced stage last night on a day that also signalled the impending departure of no fewer than four first-team players, as Gary Caldwell, Barry Robson, Willo Flood and Chris Killen prepared to head south.
Celtic are understood to have agreed a deal with Middlesbrough for Caldwell and Robson, although Caldwell is believed to be in holding talks with Wigan Athletic over a possible £500,000 move to the Barclays Premier League side.
Flood and Killen were Middlesbrough-bound to team up once more with Gordon Strachan, the man who signed them for Celtic, while Robson is expected to go to the Riverside Stadium tomorrow afternoon. The Coca-Cola Championship club remain hopeful of signing Caldwell too if the Scotland international centre-back decides against committing to Wigan.
It is the arrival of Hooiveld that will fire the enthusiasm of the Celtic support, though, as Mowbray makes his first move to strengthen a much criticised part of his side. The 6ft 3in stopper, who began his career at Heerenveen in his native Netherlands but rose to prominence while at Inter Turku in Finland, has only played for AIK for a year. His desire to move to Britain, along with the opportunity for the club to cash in on him, has paved the way for a move.
His agent, Alex Kroes, confirmed: “He has had a very good last two years; he is going step by step quickly forward. Celtic is a bigger club than AIK. AIK still is a big club – they play weekly for 35,000 people; they won the cup last year; they won the league title – but of course Celtic is another step forward in his career.
“If a move [to Celtic] could happen and things become concrete, it would be very good for both Celtic and for the player. AIK will never allow their best player to go on loan somewhere; if it will be happening, they [Celtic] will have to put some money on the table.”
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