The Tele revealed on 5 June that Ton had made an enquiry for the promising Parkhead under-20s forward, with Jim Duffy, pictured, saying that he was one of a ‘number of players’ being targeted.

But no move has been finalised as yet — because the 19-year-old still has a part to play as the Parkhead club build up for the beginning of their European qualification campaign.

Donnelly started for Celtic last night as they began their pre-season matches with a 2-0 win over FC Den Bosch.

With a number of Celtic players given extra time off before returning to work this summer, such as Scotland cap Leigh Griffiths, Duffy says that Celtic manager Ronny Deila decided to involve young fringe players such as Donnelly in his pre-season preparations.

The Ton boss said: “Ronny Deila wants to keep his young players there at this time.

“Luke has been involved with the first team in training.” But he added: “We are still hopeful that he will join us.” Duffy was aware that Donnelly — who can operate in midfield as well as up front and has played for Scotland under-17s — would feature for Celtic in some of their warm-up games.

It means Ton will have to wait before sealing the loan deal, but Duffy is fairly relaxed that there will be no late hitches which could scupper things, with an agreement already in place between the two clubs.

He told the Telegraph: “Luke will be involved in a couple of games but we are confident that it [the loan] will happen.

“We have agreed it in principle with Celtic.” Donnelly was farmed out to East Stirling last season, making 14 starts and three sub appearances.

He netted once during his stay with the ‘Shire but has been a prolific scorer for Celtic’s under-20s outfit, slamming home four goals in a 6-0 thrashing of Hibs in the Scottish Youth Cup semi-final before netting again in a 5-2 win over Rangers in the final at Hampden.

The youngster is highly-rated by the coaching staff at Celtic, having recently signed a two-year contract extension.

He is also familiar with the surroundings at Cappielow, having played there for Celtic’s Under-20s in recent years.