' NEWS ON FILIP BENKOVIC '

FILIP BENKOVIC IS NOT INJURED / HE IS FIT & HAS NOW BEEN WITH CARDIFF CITY FOR 10 WEEKS.

Not played one minute for the Bluebirds.

Harris has even played Bamba before Benkovic.

Benkovic had a full pre-season training and arrived ready to play.

Its true Leicester want to terminate the season long loan send Benkovic another club in January.

Its a mystery why Neil Harris has never started Benkovic???





The Croatia international is yet to play a minute of senior football for the club, with Harris often opting for Sol Bamba in the latter stages of matches to see out games.

Cardiff only allowed Flint to leave on the proviso they were able to bring in a defender on deadline day and managed to strike up an 11th-hour deal to sign £13m Leicester City man Benkovic on loan.

However, with Benkovic having gained a lot of game time during his previous loans with Celtic and Bristol City, Brendan Rodgers will no doubt have wanted his centre back to have had more of an involvement up to this point.

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I'm not surprised Leicester want to recall him in time to send him somewhere else on loan next month, somewhere he'll be playing matches.

I can't imagine they or Brendan Rodgers are very happy about the situation.

I'm not surprised Leicester want to recall him in time to send him somewhere else on loan next month, somewhere he'll be playing matches.

I can't imagine they or Brendan Rodgers are very happy about the situation.

Loan | Filip Benković links up with the Bluebirds


Cardiff City Club News 2 months ago

Cardiff City are delighted to confirm the signing of Filip Benković on loan from Leicester City.

The 23-year-old is a Croatian international centre-back, who began his career at Dinamo Zagreb. He moved to the UK in 2018, joining Leicester.

While he is yet to make his Premier League bow for the Foxes, the towering defender has experienced SPFL & Championship football in the past two seasons, enjoying temporary spells with Celtic and Bristol City.

Filip links up with the Bluebirds for the entirety of the 2020/21 Championship campaign, subject to international clearance.

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'Cardiff City should be more than excited' – The Celtic, Leicester City and Bristol City view on new Bluebirds signing

Aden Flint left for Sheffield Wednesday, but the Bluebirds bolstered their defensive ranks by recruiting 23-year-old centre back Filip Benkovic from Leicester City



By Glen Williams

20th October 2020



Leicester City's Filip Benkovic secured a move to Cardiff City on the final day of the transfer window, the £13m Foxes signing joining on loan with Aden Flint heading to Sheffield Wednesday.

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers says Benkovic needs game time, presumably meaning he sanctioned the move in the hope that Cardiff would afford the Croatia international plenty of minutes on the pitch.

And the player's chance might have come sooner than he thought.

Neil Harris is mulling over a number of defensive injury concerns heading into Wednesday night's clash with Bournemouth.

Left-back Joe Bennett returned to training only on Friday after hamstring problems, while Greg Cunningham, back-up in that position, limped off in the first half of the win over Preston due to injury of his own and has been ruled out for a couple of weeks.

To compound the issue, Jordi Osei-Tutu was also brought off towards the end of the match at Deepdale, but Harris hoped that was just minor tightness in his hamstring, too.

Sol Bamba was introduced from the bench on Saturday, pushing Curtis Nelson out to right back, while Leandro Bacuna filled in at left back.

But, with a few days' training under his belt, will Harris plump for young tyro Joel Bagan to fill in at left back? Or will the injury woes prompt a formation change, with Benkovic slotting in somewhere along that back line?

Wednesday could well see Benkovic make his Bluebirds bow, but how much do we know about him? Well, we spoke with those who know him best...






Jordan Blackwell – Leicester City correspondent at Leicester Mercury

Leicester City. Joined in August 2018 for £13m from Dinamo Zagreb and has made just two senior appearances so far.

1. Benkovic came in for £13m at Leicester, why hasn't he been part of the first-team plans?

He was one of three centre-backs signed in the summer of 2018, along with Jonny Evans and Caglar Soyuncu, with the club preparing for Harry Maguire's eventual departure and Wes Morgan's fade from the first-team picture.

So there was a lot of competition at first and, as the youngest and least experienced, Benkovic, was loaned out to Celtic.

When he came back last season, I don't think Rodgers believed he was Premier League standard, so he was fourth-choice until Ryan Bennett signed on loan in January, allowing Benkovic to go to Bristol City.

And, again, he has not developed as quickly as the club would have liked. With the signing of Wesley Fofana and Daniel Amartey's return to fitness, there are too many options ahead of him.

Injuries haven't helped him, either. He seems to have picked up problems regularly – he had a reputation for being injury-prone in Croatia, even as a teenager – which has limited his chances to impress.

2. How is he thought of generally at the club and what have the fans said about him?

At first, there was a great deal of excitement among fans. Given he had played under Rodgers at Celtic, supporters believed that when the manager moved to the King Power Stadium and then when Maguire left in the summer of 2019, Benkovic would be the man to replace him.

Fans have always wanted to see more of him and there were plenty of questions from supporters about why he was being loaned out amid a defensive injury crisis at the club.

I think the reason is that Rodgers simply believes he is not currently good enough for the Premier League.


3. What do you think Rodgers' expectations are for the player's loan to Cardiff?

Leicester tend not to loan players out unless they feel they will get plenty of first-team action, so I'd expect they will believe he can become a regular.

But he would have played so infrequently at Leicester that any game-time is beneficial. He's not played five games in a row since December 2018-January 2019, so Leicester will hope he can do that.

4. Does he have a long-term future with the Foxes, do you think?

He really needs to show something this season to have a long-term future at the King Power Stadium, I feel.

Wes Morgan is not expected to get a new contract when his current deal runs out next summer, so there could be an opening for him in the Leicester squad for next season.

However, as things stand, I think he needs to pull up trees at Cardiff to be given that chance.

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Chris Doyle – Celtic reporter at GlasgowLive






Celtic – loaned there in August 2018 for the remainder of the season. Played 27 games, scored two goals and won three trophies.

1. Benkovic had a decent string of games up at Celtic, did he impress during his time there?

He was more than impressive, Benkovic was arguably Celtic's best centre half that season.

When players come on loan, they can take time to settle, but Benkovic made an instant impact and he was a bit of a fan favourite too.

The Parkhead club only lost three games when he was in the side which shows the pedigree he brings to the table.

Unfortunately he picked up an injury during the second half of the campaign, but before that he was one of the standout players for Brendan Rodgers's side on their way to securing a treble.

I am fairly surprised he hasn't made his way into that Leicester side after his spell up here because from what I saw of him, he was more than ready to make that next step.

Cardiff have a quality player on their hands.

2. Why should Cardiff fans be excited by his arrival? What does he bring?

When he puts it all together, like he did at Celtic, he looks the complete centre-back.

At 6ft 4in, he is exactly the type of presence you want in your defence. He is physically strong, but is by no means a slouch. He can outmuscle say a traditional no.9, while he still has the pace to deal with a trickier forward, who likes to run the channels or play on the last line of defence.

He is also great with the ball at his feet. Rodgers is renowned for wanting all of his centre-backs to play the ball from the back and he certainly ticks that box too. He reads the game well and puts his body on the line.

If Cardiff are getting the Celtic version of Filip Benkovic, they should be more than excited.

3. Is there anything else we should know about him? What did the manager think of him or what was he like in the dressing room or off the pitch?

One thing worth noting was his relationship with the fans, the Celtic support really took to him and likewise, Benkovic definitely bought into the Celtic way.

I think he really excelled playing for a club that had such a passionate fan base and so Cardiff could be an ideal fit for him to show that form once again. He was a good figure to have in the dressing room and worked hard in training every day, especially when he was rehabbing so return to full fitness for the end of the campaign.

Celtic fans were desperate for him to come back on loan for another season and that's probably the biggest complement I can pay him.







Gregor MacGregor – Bristol City reporter at BristolLive



Bristol City – loaned there in January 2020 until the end of the season. Played 10 games and scored two goals.


1. What type of player can Cardiff City expect in Benkovic?

Benkovic is a towering centre-back who, very much like Aden Flint, will be a menace on set-pieces.

His distribution with the ball is OK and his marking is good, too. He came off the bench as Bristol City lost to Birmingham last February for his first appearance for the Robins, but a mistake to let Lukas Jutkiewicz get past him too easily allowed the Birmingham striker to score and Benkovic was then unused until Lee Johnson was sacked.

But he came back into the City side under Dean Holden towards the end of last season and did well.


2. What are his strengths and are there any potential weaknesses?

Goal-scoring for a defender. That 6ft4 frame is useful. He netted twice in six starts for City. And he was very solid in the air, winning an average of 5.1 aerial duels per game - putting him on par with defenders such as Joe Rodon, Patrick Bauer and Tobias Figueiredo this season so far.

But he's a little quicker on the turn than Flint, and his passing is perhaps that bit sharper too. He can find it difficult against nippy and nimble players but he reads the game well.

Given he has some Championship experience from last season, Cardiff could get a more settled Benkovic than City saw.

3. Are you surprised he didn't return to Ashton Gate? And would Robins fans have wanted him back?

Yes, I am surprised he didn't return to Ashton Gate.

He did OK here after getting into the side later on in the season and CEO Mark Ashton had played a good role in convincing Brendan Rodgers to send him here on loan last January when other Championship clubs wanted the central defender too.

Once the Croat left at the end of the summer he was the victim of a Bristol Rovers fan prank, as a supporter commissioned a short Cameo video of Benkovic issuing a message that included calling the City owner a 'wet wipe'.

It's unknown if this influenced any decision.

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Absolute waste of a signing and a missed opportunity. Surely this guy is better than Nelson?

Doesn't look good for future loans if we are loaning players and not playing them. Complete waste of time for benkovic. Would have been better off staying/training with Leicester and playing in their youth team than coming here to sit on the bench.

Why isn't Harris playing him or giving a reason not to?

Must be something behind the scenes because our defence has been suspect this year, it makes no sense whatsoever.

FILIP BENKOVIC IS NOT INJURED / HE IS FIT & HAS NOW BEEN WITH CARDIFF CITY FOR 10 WEEKS.

Not played one minute for the Bluebirds.

Harris has even played Bamba before Benkovic.

Benkovic had a full pre-season training and arrived ready to play.

Its true Leicester want to terminate the season long loan send Benkovic another club in January.

Its a mystery why Neil Harris has never started Benkovic???





The Croatia international is yet to play a minute of senior football for the club, with Harris often opting for Sol Bamba in the latter stages of matches to see out games.

Cardiff only allowed Flint to leave on the proviso they were able to bring in a defender on deadline day and managed to strike up an 11th-hour deal to sign £13m Leicester City man Benkovic on loan.

However, with Benkovic having gained a lot of game time during his previous loans with Celtic and Bristol City, Brendan Rodgers will no doubt have wanted his centre back to have had more of an involvement up to this point.

I’ve been told that Benkovic won’t be going back to Leicester and he’ll play if Morrison or Nelson are injured.

From that I can guess that Harris prefers the centre back pairing he has and 5 out of 6 wins supports that.
I agree, it does sound a bit strange though!

FILIP BENKOVIC IS NOT INJURED / HE IS FIT & HAS NOW BEEN WITH CARDIFF CITY FOR 10 WEEKS.

Not played one minute for the Bluebirds.

Harris has even played Bamba before Benkovic.

Benkovic had a full pre-season training and arrived ready to play.

Its true Leicester want to terminate the season long loan send Benkovic another club in January.

Its a mystery why Neil Harris has never started Benkovic???





The Croatia international is yet to play a minute of senior football for the club, with Harris often opting for Sol Bamba in the latter stages of matches to see out games.

Cardiff only allowed Flint to leave on the proviso they were able to bring in a defender on deadline day and managed to strike up an 11th-hour deal to sign £13m Leicester City man Benkovic on loan.

However, with Benkovic having gained a lot of game time during his previous loans with Celtic and Bristol City, Brendan Rodgers will no doubt have wanted his centre back to have had more of an involvement up to this point.

I’ve been told that Benkovic won’t be going back to Leicester and he’ll play if Morrison or Nelson are injured.

From that I can guess that Harris prefers the centre back pairing he has and 5 out of 6 wins supports that.
I agree, it does sound a bit strange though!

I know you will have that from a legit source, Paul

My only thinking is the manager likes the Morrison/Nelson partnership and doesn't want to split them up. It won't be about Benkovic himself and he has said he expects him to get his chance as the goes on

Other area (full back) of bigger concern right now

FILIP BENKOVIC IS NOT INJURED / HE IS FIT & HAS NOW BEEN WITH CARDIFF CITY FOR 10 WEEKS.

Not played one minute for the Bluebirds.

Harris has even played Bamba before Benkovic.

Benkovic had a full pre-season training and arrived ready to play.

Its true Leicester want to terminate the season long loan send Benkovic another club in January.

Its a mystery why Neil Harris has never started Benkovic???





The Croatia international is yet to play a minute of senior football for the club, with Harris often opting for Sol Bamba in the latter stages of matches to see out games.

Cardiff only allowed Flint to leave on the proviso they were able to bring in a defender on deadline day and managed to strike up an 11th-hour deal to sign £13m Leicester City man Benkovic on loan.

However, with Benkovic having gained a lot of game time during his previous loans with Celtic and Bristol City, Brendan Rodgers will no doubt have wanted his centre back to have had more of an involvement up to this point.

I’ve been told that Benkovic won’t be going back to Leicester and he’ll play if Morrison or Nelson are injured.

From that I can guess that Harris prefers the centre back pairing he has and 5 out of 6 wins supports that.
I agree, it does sound a bit strange though!

Paul, hopefully your right but Leicester have said to Harris play Benkovic or we will send him to another club on loan.

It is a real mystery though?

Annis,when was this said about play him or he goes elsewhere? Not doubting,just havent read anything regarding him.

FILIP BENKOVIC IS NOT INJURED / HE IS FIT & HAS NOW BEEN WITH CARDIFF CITY FOR 10 WEEKS.

Not played one minute for the Bluebirds.

Harris has even played Bamba before Benkovic.

Benkovic had a full pre-season training and arrived ready to play.

Its true Leicester want to terminate the season long loan send Benkovic another club in January.

Its a mystery why Neil Harris has never started Benkovic???





The Croatia international is yet to play a minute of senior football for the club, with Harris often opting for Sol Bamba in the latter stages of matches to see out games.

Cardiff only allowed Flint to leave on the proviso they were able to bring in a defender on deadline day and managed to strike up an 11th-hour deal to sign £13m Leicester City man Benkovic on loan.

However, with Benkovic having gained a lot of game time during his previous loans with Celtic and Bristol City, Brendan Rodgers will no doubt have wanted his centre back to have had more of an involvement up to this point.

I’ve been told that Benkovic won’t be going back to Leicester and he’ll play if Morrison or Nelson are injured.

From that I can guess that Harris prefers the centre back pairing he has and 5 out of 6 wins supports that.
I agree, it does sound a bit strange though!

I know you will have that from a legit source, Paul

My only thinking is the manager likes the Morrison/Nelson partnership and doesn't want to split them up. It won't be about Benkovic himself and he has said he expects him to get his chance as the goes on

Other area (full back) of bigger concern right now

That’s correct Chris.

It’s my thinking as well as he obviously doesn’t want to disturb the centre back pairing.
I find it a bit strange that he hasn’t given him the odd run out during games though.

FILIP BENKOVIC IS NOT INJURED / HE IS FIT & HAS NOW BEEN WITH CARDIFF CITY FOR 10 WEEKS.

Not played one minute for the Bluebirds.

Harris has even played Bamba before Benkovic.

Benkovic had a full pre-season training and arrived ready to play.

Its true Leicester want to terminate the season long loan send Benkovic another club in January.

Its a mystery why Neil Harris has never started Benkovic???





The Croatia international is yet to play a minute of senior football for the club, with Harris often opting for Sol Bamba in the latter stages of matches to see out games.

Cardiff only allowed Flint to leave on the proviso they were able to bring in a defender on deadline day and managed to strike up an 11th-hour deal to sign £13m Leicester City man Benkovic on loan.

However, with Benkovic having gained a lot of game time during his previous loans with Celtic and Bristol City, Brendan Rodgers will no doubt have wanted his centre back to have had more of an involvement up to this point.

I’ve been told that Benkovic won’t be going back to Leicester and he’ll play if Morrison or Nelson are injured.

From that I can guess that Harris prefers the centre back pairing he has and 5 out of 6 wins supports that.
I agree, it does sound a bit strange though!

We've played more than 6 games this season and its not like our defence has been solid either. Both morrison and Nelson have cost us goals.

FILIP BENKOVIC IS NOT INJURED / HE IS FIT & HAS NOW BEEN WITH CARDIFF CITY FOR 10 WEEKS.

Not played one minute for the Bluebirds.

Harris has even played Bamba before Benkovic.

Benkovic had a full pre-season training and arrived ready to play.

Its true Leicester want to terminate the season long loan send Benkovic another club in January.

Its a mystery why Neil Harris has never started Benkovic???





The Croatia international is yet to play a minute of senior football for the club, with Harris often opting for Sol Bamba in the latter stages of matches to see out games.

Cardiff only allowed Flint to leave on the proviso they were able to bring in a defender on deadline day and managed to strike up an 11th-hour deal to sign £13m Leicester City man Benkovic on loan.

However, with Benkovic having gained a lot of game time during his previous loans with Celtic and Bristol City, Brendan Rodgers will no doubt have wanted his centre back to have had more of an involvement up to this point.

I’ve been told that Benkovic won’t be going back to Leicester and he’ll play if Morrison or Nelson are injured.

From that I can guess that Harris prefers the centre back pairing he has and 5 out of 6 wins supports that.
I agree, it does sound a bit strange though!

We've played more than 6 games this season and its not like our defence has been solid either. Both morrison and Nelson have cost us goals.

And so will Benkovic cost us goals if he plays I expect. It’s the championship, it’s what happens.
But he’s been a while getting fit and he was ill recently.
Harris rates his pairing and doesn’t see a need to change things at this moment. Thats how I see it.
That’s what managers are for.

Can't help but feel this is another stick to unfairly beat Harris with, people are making too much about this.

I can see the sense in sticking with the Morrison/Nelson partnership and letting it develope, rather than disrupt it with a player who we don't actually own. Nelson's been fairly steady this season even if he has had a few wobbles, and it would be harsh to drop him. Same for Morrison, but let's be real he's untouchable because of his goal threat and when he's good, he's fantastic.

Chopping and changing CB partnerships normally tends to do more harm than good, and our CBs don't need as much rest since they cover less ground every game. It's a long old season, and personally I'm very glad we've got someone highly rated like Benkovic waiting in the wings for when we inevitably have injury problems at some point.

If we don’t use him and he returns any future loan from Leicester will carry severe financial penalties should that player not be used! Inc being a sub.

We haven’t needed him. Simple as that. He was only ever cover should Nelson or Morrison get injured or suspended. He will need replacing should Leicester recall him.

We haven’t needed him. Simple as that. He was only ever cover should Nelson or Morrison get injured or suspended. He will need replacing should Leicester recall him.

Why didn’t we keep Brown, would have saved us money and he could have sat on the bench?

We haven’t needed him. Simple as that. He was only ever cover should Nelson or Morrison get injured or suspended. He will need replacing should Leicester recall him.

Why didn’t we keep Brown, would have saved us money and he could have sat on the bench?

Because every single fan would lament the fact we didn't have a better, more experienced player to call upon if/when one of our players gets injured.

Last time we were promoted we had a very good option in Manga on the bench, and he certainly made the difference when needed.

We haven’t needed him. Simple as that. He was only ever cover should Nelson or Morrison get injured or suspended. He will need replacing should Leicester recall him.

Why didn’t we keep Brown, would have saved us money and he could have sat on the bench?

Because every single fan would lament the fact we didn't have a better, more experienced player to call upon if/when one of our players gets injured.

Last time we were promoted we had a very good option in Manga on the bench, and he certainly made the difference when needed.

We don’t know if either of them would have been better neither has had the chance.

Pretty obvious that both Morrison and Nelson have both had more than their fare shares of bad games. Better to have given the other ones a run rather than bringing them on when their cold!!!

Nobody will want to send anybody on loan to cardiff in the future
this is so detrimental to us in my view it was hard enough when neil warnock was in charge and i fear have shot ourselves un the foot again unless of course we don' t need any loans in january
and if we are going to rely on kids in the reserves.

Nobody will want to send anybody on loan to cardiff in the future
this is so detrimental to us in my view it was hard enough when neil warnock was in charge and i fear have shot ourselves un the foot again unless of course we don' t need any loans in january
and if we are going to rely on kids in the reserves.

We’ll get loans but like you said clubs won’t want to do it and they will now put a severe penalty on the move. End of the day we will pay stupid money now.

Some comments are laughable on here, do not think Leicester would of been told hes coming in as a back up & have to prove himself?? Was there a list of clubs lining up to take him ???

It will cost us financially because he hasn't been playing, clubs won't send players to Cardiff now cos of this
Ojo Wilson tutu this season all playing unless injured think
Harris has used loan players well so far. Just another thing hammer Harris about.
We have 7th best Defence 18 conceded 7 clean sheets we ain't as bad as fans make out, just been some sloppy goals, no need to make big changes.
Hes backup simple

Some comments are laughable on here, do not think Leicester would of been told hes coming in as a back up & have to prove himself?? Was there a list of clubs lining up to take him ???

It will cost us financially because he hasn't been playing, clubs won't send players to Cardiff now cos of this
Ojo Wilson tutu this season all playing unless injured think
Harris has used loan players well so far. Just another thing hammer Harris about.
We have 7th best Defence 18 conceded 7 clean sheets we ain't as bad as fans make out, just been some sloppy goals, no need to make big changes.
Hes backup simple

fully agree
youd swear we had signed VVD not someone that wasnt getting in Bristols team...

Don't worry, he'll play on Saturday as we're going to need at least 8 defenders at Norwich

Some comments are laughable on here, do not think Leicester would of been told hes coming in as a back up & have to prove himself?? Was there a list of clubs lining up to take him ???

It will cost us financially because he hasn't been playing, clubs won't send players to Cardiff now cos of this
Ojo Wilson tutu this season all playing unless injured think
Harris has used loan players well so far. Just another thing hammer Harris about.
We have 7th best Defence 18 conceded 7 clean sheets we ain't as bad as fans make out, just been some sloppy goals, no need to make big changes.
Hes backup simple

Absolutely spot on mate.
The drama queens posting who know zero about the contract and what’s going on in the club.

Like you say, laughable.

People saying you don’t need him why would you put Bamba on before him he’s clearly hit the mince pies early. Benkovic is a mystery

Nobody will want to send anybody on loan to cardiff in the future
this is so detrimental to us in my view it was hard enough when neil warnock was in charge and i fear have shot ourselves un the foot again unless of course we don' t need any loans in january
and if we are going to rely on kids in the reserves.

We’ll get loans but like you said clubs won’t want to do it and they will now put a severe penalty on the move. End of the day we will pay stupid money now.

What nonsense!! After covid,nobody is paying "stupid money " if harris believes the two current incumbents are doing the job,thats his choice,id have liked to see him get on and have a few minutes by now,I'd imagine he must be quite eager to play too? But he has to wait until form/injury takes a player out it seems.
There are always stipulations on loans,perhaps Leicester are understanding as to his situation here?

This seems like the kind of thing us fans (me included) always do. The manager brings in good cover in a position and if the players ahead of him don’t get injured or suspended or dropped for poor form we criticise the manager for bringing a player in and not playing him. If Harris hadn’t signed him and morrison or nelson had got injured or suspended we would be slagging Harris off for not signing a defender to cover them. In terms of the bringing bamba on before him it’s only ever in the last few minutes when we’re winning and Harris probably favours bambas experience