Filip Benkovic is on loan at Celtic from Leicester City.
Claude Puel’s sacking by Leicester City might interest Celtic fans.
No, not only because Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers is being touted as a successor [The Guardian], but because it prompts questions over Filip Benkovic’s future.
The Croatian centre-back has been a revelation since joining Celtic on a season-long loan from Leicester last summer, weeks after joining the Foxes for £13 million [Sky Sports].
Benkovic confirmed earlier this week that he intends on returning to the Premier League side at the end of this season [Sportske Novosti] but does he have a future there?
Puel was the manager who signed him and with the Frenchman gone, it’s possible that his successor will be making plans that don’t necessarily involve the 21-year-old.
He will want to succeed down South, but if there’s an option to stay with Celtic – and there certainly should be an offer from the Bhoys – then maybe that’s slightly more likely now.
If – and it’s worth noting that it’s still a big if at the moment – Benkovic is available for transfer then he won’t come cheap.
Having spent £13 million on him less than a year ago, City won’t be willing to take a big hit on their original investment, but Celtic should break the bank no matter what.
Yes, he would probably be their most expensive signing of all time, eclipsing the £9 million spent on Odsonne Edouard last summer but, on the evidence of this season, it could be so worth it.
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