Rogic in, Nichols out

by Tomasz Ng 0

After speculation aplenty over the past week, Melbourne Victory have finally confirmed the loan signing of Tom Rogic from Celtic FC until the end of the season.

The promising midfielder has endured a difficult season so far with the Scottish giants, and will join the Victory until the end of May, allowing him to play up to the Round of 16 in the AFC Champions League should Victory make it that far.

Rogic made his name at the the Central Coast Mariners, making 24 appearances and scoring five goals before securing what was supposed to be a big move to Celtic.

With his World Cup hopes hanging by a thread due to a lack of game time, Rogic has been looking for an escape and Victory coach Kevin Muscat is delighted that the Canberra born midfielder decided on Melbourne.

“There has been a lot of interest in Tom’s immediate future ahead of the World Cup and we are very pleased that his club, Celtic, has decided that Melbourne Victory is the best-fit for him at this stage of his career,” Muscat said in a press release.

The club are hoping to have Rogic cleared in time for Sunday’s U-NITE clash against Sydney FC.

Meanwhile, the club has also confirmed the departure of Mitch Nichols to J-League 1 side Cerezo Osaka.

Nichols made 14 appearances for Victory, most notably scoring a double in the most recent derby success and also struck up a deadly partnership with James Troisi.