Celtic star Tom Rogic will move to the Premier League with an English club surrounded by hypotheses about a giant bid from Russian giants Zenit St Petersburg.
The Herald Scotland claimed the 26-year-old’s Scottish Premiership club would soon get a £9 million (A$16 million) offer from Zenit for the player, with a lucrative contract expected to be offered as well.
However, the Russian offer falls short of Rogic’s £15 million valuation through Celtic, and his contract with Parkhead will not expire for 4 seasons.
The Australian midfielder faces a difficult resolution over his long-term as he prefers to move to the English elite, according to the Evening Times, and Southampton and Leicester City have already shown strong interest.
Rogic has a core component of the Celtic team as the number 10 since joining Australian club Central Coast Mariners in 2013.
However, the club and fans have been frustrated with his fitness in recent times, with the player already missing out on the Hoops Champions League qualifying match against FK Sarajevo on July 10 due to an ankle injury.
The Socceroo playmaker also missed 10 league games in early 2019 due to a knee after returning from domestic duty at January’s Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Questions have also been raised about Rogic’s resilience, with just 8 of his 35 appearances in last season’s full 90 minutes.
Zenit have taken an interest in the Canberra-born star since he played against them at Celtic in a Europa League match in February 2018.
The Russians knew they needed a playmaker to develop their creativity in attacking midfield and the Australian was their number one target.
Rogic contributed goals and six assists for the Aros in all competitions last season.