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The speculation surrounding Celtic right-back Josip Juranovic seems to be ramping up, now that the World Cup is over, and we are only a few weeks away from the opening of the January transfer window.
Sky Sports reported that Spanish football giants Barcelona are the latest side to register an interested in signing the player, alongside Atletico Madrid and two as yet unnamed English Premier League clubs.
The report goes on to state that the player is Barcelona’s first-choice transfer target for the right-back role, and that the Hoops are going to have more talks with the player when he returns from World Cup duty, after helping Croatia finish in third place.
It is quite remarkable the volume of interest that has gathered pace in the 28-year-old, clubs must have been really impressed with Juranovic’s performances in the World Cup, as well as how he has played for the Hoops over the last year.
It would still be a big step up going from Celtic to Barcelona, but Juranovic has shown over the last month and before that, that is he is more than capable of handling such a big step up in class. Going from Legia Warsaw to Celtic to Croatia, the player has managed to excel in every challenge faced.
Juranovic’s future will be decided sooner rather than later you have to think, and it would be a real coup for Celtic if one of their players was signed by one of the biggest clubs in World football, which is what Barcelona still are, even if perhaps they aren’t as good as they were a few seasons ago.
Only time will tell if Barcelona can afford to sign the player though, as they have had money issues recently, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see them outbid by either Atletico Madrid or one of the Premier League clubs in England that want to sign the player.
As long as Celtic get the money that the club wants, fans won’t really be bothered about who Juranovic signs for, but Barcelona do have that glamour element which has made them such a big club in football over the years.
The fact that they are keen on signing Juranovic is a boost to Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou, who deserves to be backed even more in the transfer market, if he starts to sell off some of his most important players. Will Juanovic ever play for Celtic again? Who can say, but the fact that so many big clubs want to sign him is a tribute to Celtic in a way.
