Tom Rogic signing on is a huge vote of confidence for Celtic ahead of the Scottish Cup Final

There is no better time to deliver good news for the club and the fans

I had been pondering writing a blog in anticipation of Tom Rogic joining an English Premier League team.

Roughly, the outline was this: we we could prosper without him (because we could), we have a lot of attacking talent (which we have) but that my strong preference would be for him to stay because he has qualities that are bettered by very few in the game (and he has).

But, at 25, just coming into what should be his football peak, I could have understood if he had decided to choose an English club that would have paid him gushingly for his undoubted skills.

It seemed a subject best not discussed before a cup final - nobody really wants to talk about the hero of the last one leaving a few days before one of the biggest matches in our history.

But it's testament to the work being done at Celtic, especially the faith that the players have in the innumerable qualities of Brendan Rodgers and his staff, that players like Tom wish to sign up for the next stage of the journey.

Tom somehow finds space in the most crowded area of the pitch when the opposition midfielders are blocking and tackling in support of their defence.

In fact, perhaps it's more accurate to say that he creates time, as his close control is such that he needs very little physical space in which to create an attacking channel.

He has "quick feet" along with the light touch in both left and right that allows him to go in any direction and he has the balance and upper body strength to keep possession under intense pressure.

If the defenders try to track him, he runs along the 18-yard box until he finds a gap as markers and zones change. Challenges on him at that pace have to be perfect so as not to create a fatal gap for him to run into - usually a goal - or thread through a pass.

It must be the stuff of nightmares for a defender, especially in a high-pressure match where one screw-up is often disastrous as well as highly public.

Tom's is the sort of quality that we need to develop as a team and to take on Europe's best. In fact, he would not be out of place in the late stages of a European tournament WITH Europe's best.

We are not one of those teams quite yet but we have several established and developing players who fit very easily into a team aspiring to those high standards.

Like most Celtic fans, I was delighted that Scott Bain signed up on a long-term deal, along with Kritoffer Ajer. We already have Kieran Tierney and Olivier Ntcham secured and deals for Scott Brown and Leigh Griffiths look highly likely.

We can now hope that Odsonne Edouard will feel similarly inspired to commit the next few years of his career to us - and more players may do the same.

To steal a phrase from the legend that is Paul McStay, "there's a real buzz about the place" at Celtic right now and top quality players want to be part of the story that's being written.

Let's hope that the best chapters are still to come.