Although a dominant force in Scottish football, Celtic’s season had initial stumbles both at home as well as abroad mostly due to a crisis in deep defence. The Hoops, under Brendan Rodgers, grabbed a double treble over the past two campaigns but were threatened early on while defending the silverware.
The resurgence of Rangers and Hearts in Premiership, as well as a shocking defeat against AEK Athens in Champions League qualifiers, raised many questions over Rodgers’ business strategy in the summer. But a deadline day masterclass has now strengthened the champions significantly, notably the signing of Filip Benkovic who has re-established a resilience at the back after early hiccups.
The 21-year-old Leicester City loanee has been standout so far, and his towering presence at the back influenced the Bhoys to clinch an emphatic 2-1 victory over Bundesliga big boys RB Leipzig on Thursday night at a bouncing Celtic Park.
This European encounter has now widened the possibility of making it through to the knockouts of Europa League as Rodgers’ juggernaut claimed the biggest win of their season shaking off the early jitters. There are several injury casualties in the squad, and yet the gaffer successfully regrouped the Hoops and formed a formidable force from a talented pool of players.
In the early part of the season, the likes of Jozo Simunovic, Jack Hendry and Marvin Compper failed to earn reliability at the back through injuries, and lack of form. Also, the growing uncertainty over the future of the unsettled Dedryck Boyata forced the Parkhead boss to explore the market in search of a towering central defensive option.
Benkovic only joined Leicester City a few months back on a £13m transfer from Dinamo Zagreb, and Celtic did incredibly well in convincing the Foxes to let their new sensation travel to Glasgow for assured minutes. The 21-year-old Croatian has hardly put a foot wrong ever since and is enjoying his life in Scotland amid enormous fans’ support.
However, rumours suggesting a January recall by Leicester is pretty much on the cards and the player, too, is unaware of his immediate future.
“Should we get through, I do not know what will happen. It’s not my decision to stay here or go back to Leicester. While I am here I will give everything because these supporters deserve that at the very least.”
He, alongside Boyata, has brought back stability in the backline and their partnership will be a vital element in a successful title defence for the remainder of the ongoing term. Although youngster Kristoffer Ajer is back from his injury and ready to slot in his usual centre-back role, Benkovic is irreplaceable in Rodgers’ system due to his calmness on the ball and ability to play it out from the back to instigate moves upfront.
His long balls are as effective as his ground passing, also the physicality as well as the aerial presence of the Croatian exhibit his all-around ability. A reshuffling will occur next summer, but the board must get their priorities straight and keep hold of this decorated defensive ace for the entire season.
