Celtic have been linked with Leicester City player Filip Benkovic for a loan deal after he impressed everyone with his amazing performances at Parkhead last season. However, the Bhoys boss expressed uncertainty when he was asked about the centre-back’s potential signing this month.
He said:
“I don’t know is the answer. I only worked with Filip for a short term, but I know he had a good impact here last season, so hopefully we’ll be looking to bring one or two in this week.”
The former Hibs’ manager did praise the Croatian international but his uncertainty seemed to show he is contemplating whether he should sign the 22-years-old or not?
Undoubtedly, he played an important role last season in helping the Bhoys achieve the ‘treble-treble’, even though he missed a significant portion of the campaign’s second half. He used his height and physicality to dominate the opposition, while his awareness and composure on the ball rendered threats to a minimal. The former Dinamo Zagreb player even notched two goals in 20 appearances in the Scottish Premiership.
However, the intense competition at Leicester meant that he failed to secure a spot in the senior team, with regulars Jonny Evans and Caglar Soyuncu taking the lion’s share of game time. While Wes Morgan was preferred as a back-up, and so he failed to make a breakthrough at the King Power. He could make only one FA Cup appearance for 67 minutes since his return to the Foxes following his loan stint at Celtic Park.
Lennon was probably undecided because he already has a decent amount of options at the back. His main defenders Kristoffer Ajer, Christopher Jullien, and Jozo Simunovic are performing well, while Nir Bitton and Hatem Abd Elhamed can also play for him in that position when required.
Considering all this, the Hoops do not seem to be in urgent need of a new centre-half, and so a loan deal for the talented defender doesn’t make much sense.
