AUSTRALIAN international Riley McGree is set to snub Celtic in favour of a move to Middlesbrough, according to reports.

The 23-year-old has spent the season on loan at Birmingham from Charlotte FC and has starred for Lee Bowyer's side.

His performances have caught the interest of Celtic and numerous other clubs south of the border.

Reports this week had suggested that Celtic had the deal tied up, but now talkSPORT say McGree will snub a move to Parkhead and join Middlesbrough instead.

McGree's loan deal ended in December and before that he had scored three goals in 30 games.

Birmingham had hoped to keep the midfielder, but he now looks set to join their Championship rivals.

Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun has become Middlesbrough’s third January signing after joining the Sky Bet Championship club on loan for the remainder of the season.

The 20-year-old has made two Premier League appearances for the Gunners during the current campaign and scored twice in five Europa League outings last season.

Boro boss Chris Wilder told the club’s official website: “We’re delighted to get Flo in. He’s a player I’ve known about for a long time and we identified him as someone who could come in and improve us in the second half of the season.

“He has great movement, good pace, and he’s a natural finisher. We’re looking forward to working with him.”

England Under-21 international Balogun follows Brighton frontman Aaron Connolly and permanent signing Caolan Boyd-Munce to Teesside this month.

Boro, who have won five of their last six league games, currently lie in seventh place in the table just a point shy of the play-off places.