Stephen McGowan at Scottish Daily Mail has made the claim that Celtic are ‘bracing themselves for bids’ for Croatian full-back Josip Juranovic, once the World Cup in Qatar is over this winter. Juranovic will have a chance to showcase his undoubted ability to a worldwide audience come 12 November and there have been murmurings of admiring glances in the summer just past.
Shakhtar Donetsk’s Ukrainian forward Oleksandr Zubkov (L) and Celtic’s Croatian defender Josip Juranovic vie for the ball during UEFA Champions League Group F between Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic FC in Warsaw on September 14, 2022. (Photo by JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Juranovic joined the cinch Premiership Champions during the Ange Postecoglou revolution in summer 2021. Stealing him for a snip at £2.5 million from Legia Warsaw, Josip has certainly proved a diamond find for the Hoops. Proving himself on the European scene as well as domestically, the defender has been a consistent performer for the club.
Manchester United were reputedly watching the player during the close season, with Erik Ten Hag’s assistant, Steve McLaren recommending the player according to Givemesport. That didn’t materialise however, and United are ironically now linked with another one-time Celt, Jeremie Frimpong, which you can read here.
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 03: Joao Neves Filipe Jota of Celtic celebrates with Josip Juranovic afterscoring the second goal during the Cinch Scottish Premiership match between Celtic FC and Rangers FC at on September 03, 2022 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Juranovic has made the provisional squad for the World Cup with his country along with two theRangers players. Although it is more than likely the aforementioned two may be cut from that final count with Josip maintaining his place in the final group. Croatia will play Canada, Belgium and African nation Morocco. They will be looking at going deep into the competition after their admirable display four years ago; reaching the final only to be beaten by current Champions France.
Paul Gillespie
