‘Wow, what a player’: 47-year-old thinks Celtic star should seek Parkhead exit

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Neil Lennon has handed Tom Rogic just one Scottish Premiership start in Celtic colours since the start of December but would he suit the Bundesliga?

Mark Schwarzer believes fellow Australian Tom Rogic might have to leave Celtic in order to fulfil his potential, speaking to the Two Sharp Reds Podcast.

A player Brendan Rodgers once called his ‘magic man’ has done something of a disappearing act in recent months. There is no doubting the playmaker’s ability to pull a rabbit out of the hat at any given moment but a series of fitness problems have left him tumbling down the pecking order at Parkhead.

Rogic made a rare start in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Kilmarnock but that was his first since early December with manager Neil Lennon preferring the likes of Ryan Christie and Olivier Ntcham in the attacking midfield role.

And Schwarzer, the former Middlesbrough and Chelsea goalkeeper, believes his compatriot would benefit from moving to a more testing environment as he approaches what should be the peak of his powers.

“We’ve seen glimpses. When he performs for say 45 minutes you just go wow, what a player,” the legendary shot-stopper said.

“I look at Celtic and they have dominated the league for so long now, I just don’t think he is tested enough in other aspects of the game.

“If he goes to a more competitive league, I think he would also do well in the Bundesliga, again I think that is a perfect league for someone like Tom Rogic.

“He wouldn’t be at a Bayern Munich that would be winning the league, or a Dortmund or RB Leipzig necessarily, or at the top and expecting to win every game, he’ll be a mid-table team so you are coming up against far better opposition.”

As it stands, Rogic is under contract until 2023 and he should still have a role to play under Lennon. The recent switch to a 3-5-2 formation has opened the door for arguably the most naturally gifted midfielder in Scotland to re-establish himself, perhaps as a roving number eight or in a withdrawn role behind Odsonne Edouard in attack.