Leicester loanee Benkovic could return in January

LEICESTER CITY have an option to recall Celtic loan defender Filip Benkovic in January. A £13million summer signing from Dinamo Zagreb, Benkovic signed a year-long loan with the Scottish champions in the final hours of the August window. Benkovic admitted the agreement could be cut short if parent club Leicester sell England World Cup star Harry Maguire in January, declaring he has no idea if he’ll last the season in Glasgow. ‘I signed until the end of the season but there is a clause in the contract which means that Leicester can bring me back in January,’ he said. ‘So far I have spoken with some people at the club — but they must wait and see what their situation is in the winter. Maybe they will sell some players, I don’t know. ‘Because of that I may have to wait until the last minute of the transfer window to find out what is happening — just like the last one.’ Maguire was an £80m target for Manchester United after his strong displays for England at the World Cup in Russia, before he eventually signed a new five-year contract at Leicester. ‘I know he has signed a new contract for five more years,’ Benkovic added. ‘I only know he is happy there but I also know that he’s a player being looked at by top clubs and one day he may move to one of them. ‘When you hear they reject £80m for Harry Maguire what more can you say? ‘They also spent £20m on a Turkish player and I think they are looking to make a new team with a new generation after the earlier success of the team. ‘Probably they will sell someone — I don’t know. But I will wait for my chance and I must be patient.’ Benkovic has returned to fitness after an Achilles problem and could return to the heart of the Celtic defence against Hibernian. Insisting the £13m price tag around his neck doesn’t bother him, the Croatia Under-21 defender said: ‘I don’t worry about that because that is how football is nowadays. The prices are only going to get even higher. I did my best at training and in games and then Leicester gave Dinamo all that money. ‘There is no real pressure on me because of that. Maybe sometimes other people talk about that and I have heard some of the things that have been said but that’s normal in football. ‘When someone pays that kind of fee for you then expectations are high. ‘Sometimes you will have good periods and others will be less good. When it’s like that you must still believe in yourself and keep working hard.’