Ex-Celtic scout John Park suggests Tom Rogic’s rise is even more enjoyable than Virgil van Dijk’s

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Former Celtic scout John Park has told The Scottish Sun that he finds Tom Rogic’s success to be ‘even better’ than Virgil van Dijk’s rise at Liverpool.

Celtic beat Aberdeen 2-0 in the Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday, with Ryan Christie and Mohamed Elyounoussi on the scoresheet.

One of Celtic’s key players on the day was Tom Rogic, as the Australian picked up two assists, setting Celtic on their way to victory.

It looked like Rogic would be leaving Celtic over the summer, but he failed to agree terms over a move to Qatar, according to Sky Sports Scotland.

The 27-year-old has now forced his way back into the Celtic side, and is again showing his quality almost eight years since joining the Bhoys.

Now, scout John Park – the man who brought Rogic to Celtic – has commented on the playmaker, branding him ‘exceptionally talented’.

Park believes that people are wrong about Rogic when they claim he is lazy, instead suggesting that he just has a ‘deceptive playing time’ and has ‘sublime’ quality on the ball.

Park even noted that seeing a young talent arrive like Rogic did and then become a long-standing first-team star is ‘even better’ than seeing the likes of Virgil van Dijk become global stars after his time at Celtic.

“Tom Rogic is an exceptionally talented footballer,” said Park. “But he’s also a lovely boy and it’s given me great pleasure seeing him become a Celtic hero. People sometimes look at him and think he’s lazy. That he doesn’t run about enough. But that’s the job of others. With Rogic you just want him on the ball. He’s not lazy, it’s just his deceptive playing style. He glides about the pitch, gets into great positions and creates openings out of nothing. He can do things with the ball most others in the team can’t. He’s a sublime midfielder, so much quality with each foot.”

“Of course, it’s great seeing the likes of Virgil Van Dijk become top players too. In some respects it’s even better when it’s a younger lad, like Rogic was when he joined Celtic, rising to the top,” he added.