BENYU’S CELTIC TARGET

FORGOTTEN man Kundai Benyu, who arrived at Celtic from Ipswich Town a year ago, is hoping to impress Brendan Rodgers in the pre-season.

The talented 20-year-old midfielder made only four appearances for the Hoops before being loaned to League One side Oldham.

Benyu rarely figured at the Boundary Park outfit, but the Zimbabwean international has returned to training with the champions and is eager to prove he is worthy of the four-year deal he agreed when he quit Portman Road at the end of his contract..

Rodgers has added Lewis Morgan, a £300,000 January purchase from St Mirren, to his midfield strength while Ryan Christie has also returned after his season-long loan deal at Aberdeen.

Jonny Hayes, a broken-leg victim in the last campaign, will also be back in contention.

Rodgers was impressed by London-born Benyu in the early games of last term before deciding he needed first-team football elsewhere.

He said then: “He’s been very good. He’s surprised me, to be honest. We knew he was a good player.

“You see what we’re trying to build here in terms of players being technically gifted.

“But they have to have good mobility and good physicality. And he has that. He’s played with a nice little edge, he’s competitive. And he’s got a confidence.

“We will see how he develops. Initially, the plan was to have him in, thinking he can get an idea of how we work and then go on loan.”

Benyu added: “Given time, working as hard as I can in training and listening to the gaffer and his advice, I think I’ll be able to get in the team as much as I can.”

It will be decision time again for boss Rodgers in the coming weeks as the youngster attempts to secure a place in his first team plans.