The World Cup has shed light on several talented players who are now wanted by several clubs all over Europe. Croatian right back Josip Juranovic is one such player who was exceptional for his country in their third place finish. Clubs like FC Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and two Premier League clubs have all shown interest in the Celtic defender for his impressive performance for the national team at the quadrennial tournament.
Celtic have always wanted to keep hold of the Croatian and even held talks with him regarding a new contract. But it did not come to fruition as Juranovic left for the World Cup in Qatar. The right back has three and a half years at Celtic and reports suggest that the club will sit down with him again as they will work on a more improved contract.
Juranovic is now on a week off following Croatia’s exploits at the World Cup. He missed Croatia’s third place play off against Morocco and therefore his injury will be assessed before he gets back to action for the Scottish champions.
Meanwhile Celtic have also announced the signing of Canadian right back Alistair Johnsonon a five year deal from FC Montreal. The defender will join the club in January and will only bolster the Celtic defence.
There are also suggestions that the club is preparing for life ahead of Juranovic as the interest from Spanish giants Barcelona and Atletico Madrid won’t’ be easy to fend off. However Celtic’s Australian manager Ange Postecoglou has stated that there are no approaches for any of his players till now.
“All this speculation, let me tell you right now; we don’t have an offer for any player,” the Australian said. “People can talk about offers and clubs wanting them but I can’t spend my time chasing shadows or what’s in the press every morning, because I’d be spending my whole day talking to players.”
Postecoglou does not want these speculations to affect him and clearly stated that he trusts his players to come to him to speak about other issues regarding transfers and all. “As I keep saying to people, what I see is what’s before me every day here at training. If there’s an issue or players have things put in front of them about their future, I’m sure they’ll come and see me and Michael (Nicholson, CEO) will speak to their representatives. But right now, there’s nothing. Zero. Zip. Nada. Nothing going on,” Postecoglou clearly stated.
Juranovic has shown that he can be a great player on the flank as he is very good on the ball and is extremely quick. His athletic ability gives him a slight edge over his opponents and that helped Croatia aswell at the World Cup.
