According to The Daily Mail, Middlesbrough are hoping to seal a deal for Leicester City centre-back Filip Benkovic, but the move hinges on whether Brendan Rodgers’ side can sign a replacement.
Rodgers is looking for a senior centre-back to replacement Benkovic if he was to leave for Middlesbrough this month. The defender has not played a single Premier League game since arriving from Dinamo Zagreb in 2018.
Caglar Soyuncu and Jonny Evans have been the go-to pairing at Leicester this season, with Wes Morgan providing the backup. Benkovic has only been in the 18-man matchday squad on one occasion this campaign, being an unused substitute in the 2-1 home defeat to strugglers Southampton.
The 22-year old enjoyed a successful loan spell away from the King Power Stadium last year, joining Scottish champions Celtic for the season. He also earned himself a call up to the Croatian national team, starting against Tunisia in a friendly.
Middlesbrough’s current defensive injury crisis means Head Coach Jonathan Woodgate is looking to the transfer market for reinforcements at the back. George Friend, Dael Fry, Dani Ayala, Anfernee Dijksteel and Ryan Shotton are all on the treatment table, meaning there are no first-team centre-backs fit at present.
Jonny Howson and Paddy McNair have had to fill in at centre-half in recent weeks despite being natural midfielders, and 17-year old Nathan Wood may have to be drafted in sooner than expected.
If Benkovic was to sign for the Teessiders before Friday’s deadline, he would become Middlesbrough’s fourth signing of the window, joining Patrick Roberts, Lukas Nmecha and Dejan Stojanovic.
