OPINION
With Brendan Rodgers leaving Celtic for Leicester City, it can be expected that the Northern Irish boss will have a couple of Hoops stars on his shortlist ahead of the summer transfer window.
There are a number of top talents at the Bhoys who may feel they could make an impact in the Premier League and that playing under their former manager at the King Power Stadium could help further their careers in England.
One man who looks destined to flourish as a result of Rodgers’ change of dugouts is Filip Benkovic, the centre back on loan at Parkhead from the Foxes – meaning that the manager at his parent club knows exactly what he can bring to the side.
It seems as though his spell in Glasgow has done the trick too, with Rodgers admitting he would welcome the centre back to Leicester in the summer.
He told the Daily Record: “The whole plan for him was to get him game time.We took him up to Celtic which was a huge club with big pressures to play. He has done very well.
“All the loan players will look to come back and then we will decide where we will go from there.”
Losing a player of Benkovic’s talents is a tough pill to swallow in itself for the Hoops but the fact they are also set to see Dedryck Boyata depart at the end of his contract means there are serious first team problems emerging ahead of the summer transfer window.
Their departures mean that Neil Lennon – or whoever is in the dugout – has Kristoffer Ajer, Jozo Simunovic and Jack Hendry at his disposal without any new recruits – hardly the most inspiring trio of defenders.
Finding one, let alone two, players to fill the gaping void left by Benkovic and Boyata is not going to be easy in the slightest and with serious doubts over Lee Congerton’s future as head of recruitment, things are not going to be made any easier.
Finding two quality centre backs looks to be high up the Hoops’ priority list for summer – there will no doubt be some serious headaches around Parkhead as they try to plug the gap.