OPINION
After the farce involving Dedryck Boyata last summer it was quite clear that Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers would have to be signing a new centre back either in January or the 2019 pre-season.
As it turns out the Belgian enforcer has remained at Parkhead until the end of the campaign and with a contract that expires in the coming months these will surely be his final days in Glasgow.
Replacing Boyata will be no easy task – even with his focus elsewhere he has been one of the top performers in the hoops this season – and it will take a top quality player to fill his massive boots.
However, as if losing one star defender was not bad enough, losing two is a hammer blow – and that is exactly what looks like happening after Filip Benkovic’s admission.
On loan from Leicester City, there would have been some hope over keeping the 21-year-old mainstay for another season, Celtic acting as a finishing school to get the Croatian adapted to British football.
Unfortunately for the Bhoys, Benkovic is an ambitious player and has his eyes firmly set on the Premier League, insisting he will fight for his place at the Foxes next season.
Speaking to Sportski Novosti, he said: “I want to make another step at the end of the season! I want to show that I can play in the English Premier League.
“But I want to emphasise that I still have to make progress. I can still do a lot of work on my game to be an even more complete player, I just need to work.
“I can not wait for new challenges, I want more challenges, I set very high goals. I’ll make absolutely everything to get them.”
It is the message no fans wanted to hear but they cannot consider it a surprise – he has not yet played for his parent club and will be dying to make an impression south of the border.
When fully fit Benkovic and Boyata can consider themselves the favourites for the starting roles and with the erratic Kristoffer Ajer and Jozo Simunovic the other options, two top quality signings are going to have to be found early on in the summer.
It is a nightmare scenario for the boss but he should well have known it was coming – how he deals with it is another matter entirely.