Tom Rogic might not know it, but he may well be the reason why Celtic could enter the A-League. Fairfax Media understands the Glasgow giants are interested in following the lead of Manchester City and buying an ownership stake in an A-League club with Central Coast Mariners emerging as one of their preferred purchases.

The Scottish champions are eager to explore business and investment opportunities in Australian football and a relationship with the Mariners that began almost five years ago with their purchase of Rogic could lead to a potential bid for the club. The two clubs began forging an unofficial partnership on January 9, 2013, when the attacking midfielder went on trial with Celtic. Having seen their initial investment of $750,000 on Rogic soar, the club is eager to gain a permanent foothold within the Australian football market.

Tom Rogic's rise at Celtic has the club looking for more Australian stars and a presence in the A-League. Credit:AP

Officials from Celtic were in Australia a fortnight ago and spent time on the Central Coast, visiting the Mariners' new Centre of Excellence training centre and attending the club's 2-0 win over Sydney FC on November 10. They did not discuss a potential takeover during their last visit but sources suggest Celtic have signalled their interest to other parties about buying into the A-League once a new operating model for the competition is finalised.

"I'm not surprised about their interest based on a new A-League operating model because I think it's got a lot of potential," Mariners' British-based chairman Mike Charlesworth said. "Frankly, I haven't personally spoken to anyone at Celtic, that's been handled by [chief executive] Shaun [Mielekamp] and [chief financial officer] Kathy [Duncan]."