FILIP Benkovic tonight signed a season long loan deal with Celtic. The highly rated Leicester City central defender will link up with his Croatian countryman Jozo Simunovic at Celtic for the rest of this season.
The former Dinamo Zagreb star moved to Leicester City in the summer in a £13.5million deal and will gain valuable development time playing for Celtic this season.
The 21-year-old was photographed at Celtic Park last night as Celtic secured their place in the Europa League Group stages with a comfortable 3-0 win over Lithuanian Champions FK Suduva.
“I’m very happy to be here,” he told Celtic TV in an exclusive interview. “This all happened so fast but I’m delighted that it finished here as this is a very big club with a big history.
“I was at the game on Thursday night and I can only say that the crowd were unbelievable. They were amazing and lived with the players for the whole game and they were so passionate. I really liked what I saw and I can’t wait to play in front of them.
“I will promise that I will do my best in every game and every training session. I know I can improve in my game as I want to reach as highest level as possible so I will give all my blood to this club. This is all can promise.
“I know Jozo. He also played at Dinamo Zagreb and he’s a very good guy and player and I’m good friends with him.
“We couldn’t speak as this all happened so quickly in one day but we’ll have time at training today to speak and he’ll tell more about the situation here.
“This club have such a big history and Celtic are only interested in winning and collecting trophies. I am a player who only wants to win and improve every day. Our goal this season is to win every trophy and do well in Europe, which I think we can do.
“I believe the team share these ambitions and with this crowd and this passion then I believe can do big things.”
