It has been reported today that Celtic are making contingency plans in the event that Josip Juranovic should leave the club this summer transfer window. The Croatian international had a fine year in Glasgow’s East End and such was his season that he is now attracting attention from some big hitters in the game. Atletico Madrid were recently cited as keen on the idea of signing Juranovic this pre-season, however, those rumours seem to be wide of the mark.
This latest story comes from Football Insider and states that should a bid deemed to good to pass up arrives at Lennoxtown, then the Hoops have Greece international Baldock as their back-up plan. Baldock of course was touted for a move to Parkhead in the past under Neil Lennon and then Ange Postecoglou last year.
The full-back was an integral part of the Sheffield United side that done so well in the Premier League under Chris Wilder a few seasons back. His form did dip with the rest of his teammates though during the Covid Cup season.
Formerly of MK Dons, Baldock traded life in Milton Keynes for the city of Sheffield back in 2017. He has went on to make 166 appearances for the Blades, amassing 70 of them in England’s top flight. He even managed to back an assist in the play-off second-leg match with newly promoted Nottingam Forest back in May. With two years remaining on his current contract, he will still harbour ambitions of making it back to the biggest stage in English football.
For now, Josip Juranovic looks happy where he is and was full of smiles the other day when modelling the new Celtic 2022-23 Home Kit. His representatives have even made it clear the player is content and that he is not currently thinking of a move away from Ange Postecoglou’s side. However, as we know, things can change in football very quickly and it’s best to be prepared in all eventualities.
Last summer Celtic were frustrated in attempts to sign Aaron Hickey before opting for Josip Juranovic. It’s clear that the Croatian is attracting interest from England and elsewhere across Europe and a strong performance for both Celtic in the Champions League and Croatia in the World Cup in Qatar will see his transfer value rocket still further.
Celtic will cross that bridge when they come to it and for now it seems certain that Josip Juranovic will not be leaving the club in this transfer window – back-up plan or no back-up plan.
Let’s file the latest Baldock to Celtic link under the old Paddy Roberts returning stories…
🚨 EXCLUSIVE! 🚨
– Celtic are lining up a move for Sheffield United defender George Baldock.🧐
– The Hoops fear they will lose right-back Josip Juranovic this summer.💥
– Juranovic is a target for Atletico Madrid.🇪🇸
– https://t.co/lGTCUqjDKk#CelticFC #SUFC #twitterblades pic.twitter.com/Zh7iAdux4E
— Football Insider (@footyinsider247) July 7, 2022
Paul Gillespie
Football Insider has about as much inside knowledge of Celtic as I do of Indonesian side Persebaya Surabaya, i.e. absolutely none. It is a terrible clickbait site that really should be ignored by Tims, and thus this story is most likely utter pash.