Celtic holding onto on-loan starlet for the entire season would help them in their title defence

Why Celtic should keep hold of Filip Benkovic for the entire season

According to the Scottish Sun, on-loan Leicester City defender Filip Benkovic has claimed he doesn’t know if he will be at Celtic beyond January.

The big Croat joined the Scottish champions on loan from Premier League side Leicester in the summer transfer window. The 21-year-old central defender has been playing very well for the Hoops, having forged a strong centre-back pairing with Dedryck Boyata.

Filip Benkovic has nailed down a regular place in Rodgers’ side after a string of solid performances. However, should Leicester City feel they need more options at the back, they may look to recall the Croatian when the transfer window reopens in January.

But Rodgers and Celtic must do everything in their powers to hold onto Benkovic. The Hoops have managed to recover from a sluggish start to the new Premiership season. The club, under Brendan Rodgers, landed the double treble last term but endured a patchy form at the start of the campaign.

A lot of eyebrows were raised when Celtic didn’t significantly strengthen their defence in the summer despite the clear loopholes in the squad. Rodgers, however, somehow managed to keep hold of Dedryck Boyata and decided to bring Filip Benkovic on loan from Leicester in the summer.

Benkovic only joined Leicester in the summer from Dinamo Zagreb and Celtic did a fantastic job by taking the towering Croat on loan by assuring him regular game time. Truth be told, Benkovic couldn’t quickly break into the side but once injuries started piling up, he got a chance and since then, there’s been no looking back.

The Croatian starlet has not put a foot wrong in Celtic colours so far, and his presence at the back influenced Rodgers’ side to clinch a massive 2-1 victory over Bundesliga club RB Leipzig in the Europa League earlier this month. Benkovic and Boyata seem to have formed a fantastic understanding between them and that’s only going to grow with regular game time on the pitch.

Celtic’s defence was a big worry at the start of the season but Benkovic has truly strengthened it alongside Boyata. Due to Benkovic’s string of stellar performances, he has become an indispensable figure in Rodgers’ side.

Read more: Three replacements Celtic must consider for Dedryck Boyata – including this 29-year-old World Cup powerhouse

And keeping that in mind, Rodgers should do everything in his powers to stop Benkovic from leaving in January. He has to persuade the Celtic board to find a solution for Benkovic’s situation as the big Croat crucially holds the key for the Glasgow giants. He could play an important role in Celtic’s title defence.