Tom Rogic: How West Brom new boy almost became a Sheffield United player after Celtic switch confirmed
Tom Rogic, the West Bromwich Albion new boy, could have been a Sheffield United player almost a decade ago after his exit from Glasgow giants Celtic was confirmed earlier today.
Rogic, a 53-cap Australian international, has signed a deal at The Hawthorns until the end of the season after a free-transfer switch from Celtic Park, where he left at the end of last season.
Rogic, who represented his country at the 2018 World Cup, won 16 major honours in nine years at Celtic Park – but things could have been so different for the 29-year-old had he been lured to Sheffield United instead almost a decade ago.
Rogic was identified as a player of interest during the Kevin McCabe era of ownership at Bramall Lane, which saw the property magnate purchase interests in a number of clubs around the world – including Rogic’s Central Coast Mariners in Australia.
Gordon Watson, who was United’s international academy boss at the time, was keen on bringing Rogic – who he described as a “top player” – to Sheffield. But it didn’t happen, Rogic went to Celtic instead and the rest, as they say, is history.
“Kevin owned shares in clubs in China, Hungary, India and Belgium," Young has previously told Lanarkshire Live.
"He also had shares in Central Coast Mariners. They had this group of clubs they would use to Talent ID players and filter them through the levels.
"Tom Rogic was one of them but we missed out because of a discrepancy over a shares issue. We could have - and should have - signed him.
"I can't put my finger on it but it was something on the ownership side of it. Sheffield United had first pick on anybody and never took it up.
"My job was to implement 'the Sheffield United way' and try and develop players, migrating them back to Sheffield United.
"I remember going to a game at Celtic when I was at Sheffield United. Rogic was outstanding and Celtic beat Dundee 6-0.
“We had a clause that we could have taken him for £800,000. I thought he was a top player.”
The links with the Mariners, Ferencváros in Hungary and China’s Chengdu Blades eventually ended – and Rogic came to England eventually.