Celtic are in a tight race with Rangers for the Premiership title, and the January transfer window gives them a perfect opportunity to add some reinforcements to the squad. One thing the Hoops might have been worried about is Filip Benkovic’s situation as the Leicester City defender does have a return clause in his contract which could have allowed Claude Puel to recall back the defender if he felt like it in January.
However, the French manager recently opened up about that and maintained that Benkovic is set to stay at Park Head until the end of the season. He was quoted as saying (Sky Sports),”We have a lot of defenders at the club. Assuming we don’t get any injuries, it’s better Filip maintains his loan at Celtic.”
This is going to come as a massive relief to the Hoops as Benkovic has established himself as the mainstay of Celtic’s defence this season. The Foxes signed him in the summer of 2018 and decided to send him away on loan straightaway, and the Croatian has looked the part in Hoops’ colours so far.
Having the defender until the end of the season is a massive boost for Brendan Rodgers. Celtic struggled defensively in the initial phase of the season when Benkovic and Boyata were both unavailable, and that is probably what cost them a place in the Champions League group stages this season.
Leicester City have a gem on their hands, and £13m (Sky Sports) could seem like a bargain in one or two seasons’ time for the 21-year-old. The maturity he shows in defence at this tender age makes him stand out. His ability on the ball is also worth mentioning.
He has a sense of nonchalance to his game as he hardly seems to break a sweat while he is on the pitch. To go with all that footballing abilities, Benkovic also has that physical side to his game as he stands at 6ft4inches and shows immense strength on and off the ball. We wouldn’t be wrong in saying that his demeanour and playing style reminds us of a former Celtic player who is now considered as one of the best defenders in the world. No marks for guessing that we are talking about Virgil Van Dijk.
The manager would hope that the Croatian would recover soon from his injury as Benkovic was substituted early in the tie against Rangers in what seemed like a hamstring injury. With Claude Puel now confirming his position about the defender, Rodgers can breathe a sigh of relief as the Bhoys are set to have their defensive wall for the rest of the season.
