Celtic are in talks with Leicester City to sign centre-back Filip Benkovic.
The 23-year-old was on loan at Cardiff City earlier this season but he failed to establish himself as a regular starter at the Championship club.
The Croatian has now returned to the Premier League club but he is unlikely to get any first-team opportunities during the second half of the season.
The likes of Jonny Evans, Wesley Fofana and Caglar Soyuncu are all ahead of him in the pecking order and Benkovic needs a loan move in order to play regularly.
According to Sky Sports, Celtic want to sign the defender on a loan deal with an option to buy.
The Scottish champions have lost Christopher Jullien to a long term knee injury and they want the Benkovic as his replacement now.
Benkovic played for Celtic in 2018 when Brendan Rodgers managed the Scottish outfit and he should be able to settle in quickly and make an immediate impact if he returns to Glasgow this month.
Leicester manager Rodgers recently revealed that Benkovic joining Celtic on a loan deal is a possibility and the Scottish outfit are a huge club who could play a key role in the defender’s development.
It seems that the former Hoops manager is open to the transfer and that could simplify negotiations and help Celtic secure an agreement soon.
It will be interesting to see how Benkovic performs in the Scottish Premiership if he returns to Celtic this month.
The Hoops are under tremendous pressure in the title race and they need defensive reinforcements to challenge Rangers properly.
Celtic are chasing their 10th league win in a row but they find themselves 19 points adrift of table-topping Rangers right now.
