It feels like a lifetime ago that both men were at Celtic. Brendan Rodgers brought Filip Benkovic to Celtic from Leicester while still managing the Glasgow club.
After he moved onto Leicester and Filip headed back down south after winning a treble with Celtic – the Croatian must have thought he was in a good position to get his chance under his former Celtic boss.
It’s not been the case – the defender has gone on several loans and now finds himself in the Leicester squad and only there in case of an injury crisis.
Brendan Rodgers has been speaking about the former Celtic defender and what he has to do to get into the team.
The Irishman says Filip can still make a difference at the club – but you have to look at the evidence to this point and say it’s unlikely.
Speaking to Leicester Mercury, Brendan Rodgers said, “He’s come back and had a good pre-season.
“We decided to keep him here because of the situation we’ve had with injuries.
“With Wesley going down and Jannik and Jonny having some issues, we couldn’t be left short.
“But I’ve also seen a shift in his mentality. It’s been a difficult couple of years for him. He’s played nowhere near the games he would have liked to, and I would have wanted.
“But he’s come back and over the course of these next few months, he’s going to be close around the group, and I’m sure he’ll get some game-time. Then we can assess it from there.
“I’ve been fortunate enough that I saw him at a really high level when he came to me on loan at Celtic.
“He played in a number of big games. He played against Leipzig in a game where he was outstanding.
“So I feel if we can get that player back, to that level, he’s a very valuable player for Leicester City.”
The home Celtic tie against Leipzig was a great night for the club – the hoops won 2-1 on the night, replying instantly after the Germans got back on level terms.
Rodgers won two trebles at Celtic – one of them without ever losing a domestic game in ALL competitions. The Leicester boss was always looking for that new challenge in the EPL and he finally got it – leaving Celtic behind promptly.
Since then, the manager has won a trophy with the club but the top 4 target has till not been met. Brendan and Leicester have had a poor start to the season this term.
As the old saying goes “if you’ve got nothing nice to say, say nothing at all”.