Pundit Tam McManus has recently made a claim about Tom Rogic and the midfielder’s potential move to Qatar.
McManus was a guest on the latest episode of PLZ Soccer’s The Football Show and the panel discussed many issues involving Scottish football. One thing that they talked about was Rogic and his potential Parkhead exit, with McManus giving his verdict on the rumours.
Rogic has been linked with a move to Qatar recently and it has been reported that he is set to move away from Parkhead. Sportsmail understands that Celtic are ‘in talks’ with an unnamed club in Qatar and that the Hoops are ‘close’ to agreeing a £4million deal.
McManus gave his verdict about this claim and believes that this would be a ‘brilliant bit of business’ for the Bhoys.
He said: “My thoughts are if I was Celtic, I would bite their hand off. I was having a look at his stats there, he’s scored eight goals in his last two and a half seasons at Celtic. I don’t think he’s kicked a ball since Brendan Rodgers has left. He is very rarely fit. Even when he’s fit, you can’t get 90 minutes out of him. There’s no doubt about it, he’s come up with some massive goals – particularly against Rangers.
Do you think selling Rogic for £4million will be a good deal for Celtic?
Yes, brilliant deal
No, he's worth more
“A lot of Celtic fans will obviously remember the goal that clinched the treble against Aberdeen in the last minute of the game. So, he’s a bit of a cult hero with the Celtic fans. But if you crunch the numbers in terms of what he’s earning at Celtic, I think he’s earning probably £20,000-plus. His output over the last two seasons has been very, very poor – about 80 league games, he’s scored six or seven goals. I think getting £4million for him is a brilliant bit of business for Celtic.”
TIF Thoughts…
In the 2019/20 season, Rogic played only 600 minutes of Premiership football and made only 16 league appearances for the Hoops (as per Transfermarkt).
Since the beginning of the 2017/18 season, the Australian has had four separate periods out due to knee problems and as a result, he has missed as many as 44 games for the side in that time. In the 2014/15 season, he had missed 23 games due to a groin problem (as per Transfermarkt).
This clearly shows that the 27-year-old has had numerous fitness issues that have troubled him over the years. With McManus also highlighting his lack of fitness as a key issue, it is hardly a surprise that Celtic are reportedly willing to let Rogic go.