STEPHEN McManus has joined Middlesbrough on loan, according to Celtic boss Tony Mowbray.

The Hoops captain will join up with former Parkhead boss Gordon Strachan at the Riverside until the end of the season.

Mowbray said: "The ink on the contract is drying as we speak."

Newcastle also morning completed a double swoop for Chelsea starlet Patrick van Aanholt and experienced QPR defender Fitz Hall.

Nineteen-year-old Dutch left-back van Aanholt has joined the club on a months loan deal with Jose Enrique facing several weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

Hall, 29, has arrived from QPR until the end of the season with Steven Taylor facing months out with medial ligament damage.

Both men are included in the squad for tomorrow's Coca-Cola Championship trip to Leicester.