Celtic have opened talks with Leicester City to sign Filip Benkovic with a permanent deal a possibility.
At a media conference on Thursday Brendan Rodgers said that there had been no contact made for the Croatian defender who returned to the EPL side after a disappointing loan spell at Cardiff City.
Soon after 5pm on Friday Anthony Joseph reported differently with Celtic in need of a defender to cover for the injured Chris Jullien.
Celtic are in talks with Leicester City to sign centre-back Filip Benkovic.
He’s not part of Leicester’s short-term plans. They’ll listen to loan offers and would even sell for the right price.
Celtic would prefer a loan deal, with an option to buy.
Discussions ongoing. pic.twitter.com/wvjVFnozPx
— Anthony Joseph (@AnthonyRJoseph) January 8, 2021
With Kris Ajer expected to leave in the summer and Shane Duffy on loan from Brighton the possibility of a permanent deal is likely to appeal even though Leicester paid £13m for Benkovic in 2017.
A loan spell at Celtic the following season has been the best spell that the 23-year-old has had since leaving Croatia although injury curtailed his appearances in the second half of the 2018/19 season.
Last season Benkovic failed to make any impact at Leicester before moving on loan to Bristol City before Lockdown. At Cardiff he made one appearance in the Championship before his season long loan was cut short.
