Brendan Rodgers comments on Filip Benkovic future

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Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers says he will assess the future of centre-back Filip Benkovic in January.

The 22-year-old Croatian, who spend last season on loan at Celtic under Rodgers, hasn’t played a single minute of competitive football for the Foxes this season. That run has prompted many to believe the centre-back could be moving away on loan in January.

In fact, the Telegraph suggested just that earlier in the week with Celtic once again a possible destination.

Now vilified former Hoops boss Rodgers has spoken about the defender’s current position and future at the Premier League club.

“He’s been good,” Rodgers told Leicestershire Live. “He played away at Tottenham with the Under-23s (last week). He’ll play in some more of their games.

“For Filip, it’s a very difficult position for him. He’s fighting every day to be fitter and stronger.

“We’ll see where he’s at in January, whether he needs games with more pressure, or whether he stays and is that support player should anything happen.”

Rodgers doesn’t see a future for Benkovic

Given the fact that Benkovic hasn’t even made the matchday squad in any of Leicester’s competitive matches so far this season, you kind of doubt that he has any future under Rodgers.

The Northern Irishman was always good at being a diplomat when he was in charge in Glasgow. He rarely criticised a player publicly but you can read between the lines with him – and that doesn’t make things look good for Benkovic.

Lots of fans would be behind us making a loan move for him in January and it’s easy to see why. We aren’t hugely blessed for centre-back options and we’re only a couple of injuries from the likes of Nir Bitton or Jack Hendry being deployed there.

While that duo could undoubtedly do a job in the Premiership, you would have some worries on whether they could handle a European clash. Bringing in Benkovic would give us another option that we could rely on. With so many important games likely to come in the New Year, that can’t be a bad thing.