Filip Benkovic was a popular no nonsense defender during his time at Celtic. The big Croat enjoyed a successful year long loan spell at Paradise in season 2018/19 where he played a pivotal role in winning a Treble for the club that season and it seems he may become available again as his career has stalled so far this season.
Benkovic signed for Leicester from Dinamo Zagreb in the 9th August 2018 for a reported fee of around £13.5m. He was immediately loaned out to Celtic two weeks later as Brendan Rodgers looked to bolster his back line after having successfully won a Double Treble. Benkovoc made his debut against St Mirren and scored his first of two goals against Hearts in a 5-0 rout in November.
The big defender enjoyed a good run in the team until an ankle injury picked up in a home game against Hamilton left him sidelined for weeks. He returned to Leicester at the end of the season and has so far failed to make an impact in The Foxes squad. Benkovic was again immediately loaned out to Bristol City at the start of last season where he made only 10 appearances and is now enjoying a rather fruitless time at Cardiff City.
Leicester boss Rodgers said, “He needs to play games and at the minute he’s not playing at Leicester and now he’s not playing at Cardiff,” Rodgers said. “It’s something where we need to get Filip playing. He needs to get working again and show the level he can play at.
“Thankfully for myself, I’ve seen the level. When he was with me at Celtic he played against RB Leipzig and he was sensational. Really since that first 10 games at Celtic, he hasn’t maintained a level of fitness and performance that I know he can.
“Hopefully for him he can get playing again and if it’s not going to be at Cardiff in the longer term, then we’ll look at it from there.”
Now regular readers may think that I am somehow changing my tune when I have become so vocal at my dismay of Celtic fans hankering for Forster and Roberts to resign for the club but there is one difference here. Benkovic WANTED to stay at Celtic for another season. He wanted to stay and develop his career at the club as Forster and Roberts fancied their chances at cracking the EPL.