After yet another eye-catching display from one of our current Celtic stars at the World Cup in Qatar, the invariable interest and subsequent courting of Josip Juranovic is on everybody’s mind at the moment. Nobody wants to lose their best players, but one also must be mindful of the fact that the opportunities it will give both Celtic and Josip could be endless.
For sure, he’s a remarkable talent considering the paltry fee we paid for him; we should have had a mask and a pin-stripe shirt on when we hired him from Polish side Legia Warsaw, such is his undoubted ability. His international profile has raised the potential to make far more money than we might have, had his country not done so well in Qatar this winter.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Josip is a top operator at right-back and Ange Postecoglou has taken his game to a new level with his coaching and tactical nous. There were clear parallels with his display against Brazil and the tenets of Angeball, which he has been exposed to this past while in a green and white hooped jersey. It was actually quite surreal witnessing it with him in red, white, and blue!
The signing of Ally Johnston all but signals the intention of both Celtic and Juranovic to field offers whilst his stock has risen so high, in my opinion. It was probably pre-destined that the World Cup would be the best chance for him to maximise his value from both parties’ point of view. Not that anything was an absolute or concrete, but rather, that it would create possibilities.
Belgium’s forward #10 Eden Hazard and Canada’s defender #02 Alistair Johnston during the Qatar 2022 World Cup (Photo by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images)
I think Josip is on the cusp of becoming a truly world-class footballer and his display against Vinicius Junior lends weight to that assertion. At Celtic, I feel regardless of whether he was world-class already or not, we would still receive a fee that was below what the market price would be for him had he been playing elsewhere.
Having said that, I still reckon we should be mindful of the fact that if anyone wants to try and test the water we should still be looking to equal or better our record sale in Kieran Tierney to Arsenal back in 2019. He’s a regular international with a country who reached the last World Cup Final, he’s in the Semi-final right now with said country, and he’s played Champions League football too. Added in to the mix is the undeniable truth that you must pay a premium in the January transfer window, and you get a rough idea of the figure.
Celtic’s Croatian defender Josip Juranovic reacts as he takes part in a training session at the Celtic Training Centre in Lennoxtown, north of Glasgow on September 5, 2022, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League Group F football match against Real Madrid. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Bassey, who left Ibrox in the summer just past, went for £19 million or so the media reported. With that at hand, you have to say he’s a far better player than the Nigerian, with his technical ability now in question by many of an Ajax persuasion. So that, to me, would indicate that we should be looking between £25-30 million for Josip should teams wish to firm up their interest in our star right-back. If it’s January, the higher end of that figure, if it’s next summer, the lower end of the scale.
I would say that’s a more than fair price having considered the situation…
What’s your thoughts?
What should Celtic be looking for to part with Josip Juranovic if teams bid come January?
Paul Gillespie
