Tom Rogic could benefit from leaving the Celtic bench behind in search of regular first-team football in Qatar, his Australia coach Graham Arnold has told the Sydney Morning Herald.
On his day, the Socceroos star is perhaps the most naturally gifted attacking midfielder in Scottish football.
But his penchant for a long-range stunner or a brilliantly executed backheel is seemingly not enough to convince Neil Lennon that the mercurial midfielder deserves a place in Celtic’s starting XI.
Rogic was left on the bench during the 5-1 opening day thrashing of Hamilton Academical, before failing to even make the matchday squad for the 1-1 draw at Kilmarnock.
Clearly, the 27-year-old is stuck like superglue behind Callum McGregor, Ryan Christie and Olivier Ntcham in Lennon’s pecking order.
According to Sky, Rogic’s seven-year stay at Celtic is coming to an end with an unnamed Qatari club closing in on a deal worth £3.5 million.
For Australia boss Arnold, however, it does not matter where Rogic is playing. Just as long as he is playing.
“At the end of the day it’s his career and we’re here to advise him,” says a man who led Sydney FC to a pair of A-League titles.
“The competitions in the Middle East are coming on very, very quickly and they’re very strong, and with a lot of good players.
“The most important thing for me is that Tommy gets the smile back on his face and the enjoyment back in his game, and that he’s also going to play football.
“At the moment at Celtic, it doesn’t look he’s going to play much and he’s had a season last year of on-and-off playing. The year before that, he had a lot of injuries.”
Rogic lifted a remarkable 13 trophies during his time at Celtic, including five Scottish Premiership titles.
He also scribed his place into the Hoops history books with a wonderous winner in the Scottish Cup final in 2017 as Brendan Rodgers’ side secured the first of three domestic trebles in succession.
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