Celtic landed Filip Benkovic from Leicester City in August.
Former Celtic boss Davie Hay has told the Glasgow Evening Times that he thinks Brendan Rodgers did well to even bring Filip Benkovic to the club – but fears he may be moving on in January.
The Bhoys endured a difficult deadline day in August as they were forced to sell striker Moussa Dembele to Lyon in a big-money move, but they did secure one major signing in Benkovic.
Nobody expected the Croatian to be on the move. After all, Leicester had only recently signed him from Dinamo Zagreb for a £13million fee, some 18 months after Celtic first had an interest in him.
Yet, it appeared that Leicester had signed him primarily for the future and in case Harry Maguire left for Manchester United, and Benkovic was allowed to leave on loan for the season as Claude Puel had Maguire, Jonny Evans, Wes Morgan and Caglar Soyuncu at his disposal.
Benkovic has starred for Celtic, with the 21-year-old turning in impressive performances under Rodgers to underline just why Leicester were so keen to sign him in the first place.
Celtic romped past Hearts with a 5-0 win on Saturday, and Benkovic headed home the second goal in that win, as he continues to become a favourite at Parkhead.
Now, ex-Celtic boss Davie Hay has raved about Benkovic, telling the Glasgow Evening Times that he thinks Rodgers has done well to even get him to Celtic, as he has everything you could want in a defender.
However, Hay admitted his fears that Benkovic will leave Celtic early in January, with Leicester potentially recalling him if Maguire does end up heading to another Premier League club in 2019.
“I don’t think I’m the only one who has really taken to Filip Benkovic,” said Hay. “For me, he looks the part. That’s huge. He runs like a centre-half, has the build of a natural defender and, so far, as strolled through Scottish football. Benkovic is a reliable central defender, which is exactly what Celtic have been searching for. Calm under the ball or with it at his feet, he reads the game superbly, never seems to be rushed and I can see why Leicester City paid £13million for him in the summer.”
“Rodgers has done well to get him in. The big question now is whether he stays until the end of the season. There has been talk of Harry Maguire, Leicester’s England centre-half, moving in January for £80m – an astonishing amount of money. Were that to happen the Benkovic would likely head back down the road, and that would be a real shame because I rather like the idea of watching him for a bit longer,” he added.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
