Celtic had brought in Filip Benkovic on loan last season, and the Croatian defender impressed heavily while playing for the Hoops. His playing style and demeanour reminded some of Virgil Van Dijk’s stint at Celtic, and it would be fair to say that the Glaswegian giants would once again like to have him back this summer.
Brendan Rodgers had indicated (Daily Record) in May that if the matter of sending the 21-year-old again on loan comes up, then he would sanction a move to Celtic. However, the defender seems to be eyeing a return to the Premier League, and he feels that he is ready for the big challenge. The future of the defender still appears to be undecided.
Benkovic indicates about what he wants next season
Benkovic was quoted as saying (The Scottish Sun), ”I believe in myself, and I believe I can be in the Premier League. I’ve made progress in the last year, I had a lot of games at a high level – in Europe as well – but I think I still have a lot to add, to every part of my game. It would be great to work with Brendan Rodgers again because we had a very good connection at Celtic. The plan is to go to prepare with the team and then we’ll see.”
Benkovic might not have explicitly stated that he is opposed to a loan move again, but it looks quite clear that he wants to have a crack at the English top flight next season.
We think that Celtic would still want to sign one more centre back after they completed the signing of Christopher Jullien. The Hoops should be on the lookout to sign Benkovic again given the way he settled in at the club last season.
Benkovic’s strengths
The Croatian centre back missed much of the second half of the campaign due to injury, but he remained a very crucial player for them in the first half of the season. His ability to play out from the back, strength in the air and reading of the game was often immaculate, and he always seemed to be in control whatever the opposition threw at him.
Big blow for Lennon?
The Hoops have got the likes of Jozo Simunovic, Kristoffer Ajer, Jack Hendry and new signing Jullien as options at the back. We think that Hendry could be shipped away on loan for the time being as he doesn’t seem to be ready yet to take on the challenges of playing for a top club like Celtic. Signing Benkovic will be a big plus, but even if Celtic miss out on him, they seem to be covered especially after the signing of Jullien.
