With a few days remaining before the transfer window shuts, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has an issue to solve as Belgian international Dedryck Boyata could yet leave the club this summer.
The 27-year, who scored the winner against Hamilton this past weekend, is unsettled at Celtic Park after a move to Fulham fell through earlier this month. And Daily Mail now claim that Celtic could let him go and are looking at Leicester City’s Filip Benkovic as a potential replacement.
Benkovic only joined the Foxes on the English deadline day and is wanted on a loan deal.
Can Benkovic replace Boyata at Celtic?
Into his fourth season at the club, Boyata has been a mainstay at the back in each of his first three seasons. Last season, Boyata made 39 appearances in all competitions and was crucial to Celtic winning everything they did.
In five Champions League group stage games, he had a passing accuracy of 92% and won close to two aerial duels per game as he was a towering presence at the back for the Hoops.
Boyata also started three games for Belgium during the World Cup and registered even better figures, winning 3.3 aerial duels per game.
Still only 27, Boyata is at his peak years as an athlete but he has just a year left on his current Celtic contract which will be an issue for the Premiership side. They will definitely not want to lose him this summer, though.
The Croatian international is yet to play for his new club in England. He has been the first choice for Croatian top flight outfit Dinamo Zagreb for the last two seasons.
Strong in the air and a smart reader of the game, Benkovic is a good front-footed defender. He is comfortable with the ball at his feet and can also pick passes but inside his box, he is a commanding presence, happy to throw himself to win the ball.
Benkovic’s passing is pretty impressive as well and he could be a very good player to have when the team wins possession of the ball in their own half.
The Croatian has very little experience outside his home country, however, and Rodgers might not be able to count on him as his first choice in what is a crucial season as Rangers are looking a much better outfit.
Benkovic is a decent option to have but Celtic need to keep hold of Boyata even if it means losing him for free next season.