A statement issued on the Glasgow giants' official website just four hours before the end of the transfer day deadline said: "Celtic are delighted to announce that Newcastle United striker Craig Bellamy has signed for the club on loan until the end of this season."

Moving to Parkhead will see 25-year-old Wales striker Bellamy linking up with international team-mate and fellow forward John Hartson with Celtic understood to have the option of signing the player on a full-time basis at the end of the season.

Earlier in the day Bellamy rejected a six-million-pound permanent move to Birmingham.

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill appears to have successfully exploited the reluctance of Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd and manager Graeme Souness to sanction a loan move to another English Premiership side.

Souness decided he had had enough of Bellamy after the striker feigned an injury ahead of the January 23 game against Arsenal and then accused his manager of lying in a TV interview.

"This is a massive football club," Bellamy told a news conference broadcast on Sky Sports. "My first home game, if I play, will be an Old Firm derby and that's incredible.