Celtic thought they had secured a huge signing in September when they landed Shane Duffy on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion – but it hasn’t really worked out, has it?
Duffy has been a shadow of his former self for the Bhoys, which will be particularly disappointing for Duffy himself having grown up supporting Celtic.
Duffy’s poor form and an injury to Christopher Jullien means Celtic are back in the market for a centre back – and they want a former Bhoy.
Croatian centre back Filip Benkovic is back at Leicester City having had his loan deal with Cardiff City scrapped just a few days ago.
Benkovic spent the 2018-19 season on loan at Celtic and largely impressed, but palyed just once for Cardiff before heading back to Leicester.
The 23-year-old needs first-team playing time, and Celtic’s assistant boss John Kennedy has suggested that Celtic are keen.
Kennedy has told The Herald that Benkovic is on the Celtic shortlist as they pursue a new centre back, believing that he knows the Celtic setup well and could be what the Bhoys need.
“Yeah, Filip is one we know very well,” Kennedy said. “And with Christopher Jullien’s situation it puts us in a position where we’re probably lacking a bit of presence there and a bit of cover. So, it’s a position we’ll probably try to get a body in.”
“Filip is one we know very well. He’s been here before, he knows the club well, he knows ourselves well, and he’s certainly one who would be on our shortlist to look at in terms of moving forward. So, yeah, he’s one we know and he’s one we’ll consider, and we’ll hopefully choose the right one and get that over the line,” he added.
There’s just one problem; Celtic may have already missed out. The Daily Mail report that Benkovic is set for a move to Belgian side OH Leuven, who are Leicester’s affiliate club, meaning Celtic may be too late in the race to sign the £13m ace.
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