Celtic hero Charlie Nicholas has aired his concerns that manager Ange Postecoglou may become agitated over the potential sales of Josip Juranovic and Giorgos Giakoumakis.
The duo have been in incredible form since signing for the Hoops around 18 months ago, impressing heavily at right-back and striker respectively as Celtic managed to turn around their poor results under Neil Lennon with a 10th title win in 11 seasons.
Though with success comes interest from elsewhere; especially for Juranovic. His superb performances in green and white have seen him nail down a place as Croatia's right-back at the World Cup in Qatar, and with the eastern Europeans reaching the quarter-final, top outings by the former Legia Warsaw man have proved that he can rub shoulders with superstars such as Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol - without looking out of place. And with moves elsewhere touted, Nicholas has aired his concerns over rebuilding should Postecoglou have to continuously replace his outgoing players.
"I am concerned with what is happening on the contract front with Josip Juranovic and Giorgos Giakoumakis at Celtic - and even more so if Ange Postecoglou isn't involved in the decisions," Nicholas said in his Scottish Daily Express column.
"Both are big players, so it's alarming they could be sold by the club if neither are able to agree new deals. Players come and go, I get it, but the bigger picture worries me. What does Postecoglou really think about losing two of his key men?
"I am a big fan of Juranovic. He hasn't looked out of place with Croatia in the knockout stages of the World Cup and could easily play in the English Premier League or any one of Europe's top divisions. And the versatility of a right-back who can also play left-back is invaluable.
"If Celtic sold Juranovic they would certainly get more than the £2.5million they paid LegiaWarsaw for him last year, but I don't think it would be a massive profit. I know the club have just signed Alistair Johnston from Montreal for £3m but he isn't a better right-back."
Not only Juranovic, but Giakoumakis has been linked with a move away after reports last week suggested talks over a new contract had broken down for the Greek star. He has eight goals in 21 games this season despite starting on the bench in most games - though failure on a new contract could also see him move on.
He added: "There would also be a lot of interest in Greek striker Giakoumakis because he has scored a lot of goals for Celtic despite not being a regular starter.
"The wage packets of Giakoumakis and Juranovic will be nowhere near what the top earners at Parkhead are on, and by all accounts the offers that are on the table would still have left them some way short of that level. It will be nothing like the Martin O'Neill era of big contracts.
"It takes me back to my first spell at Celtic in the early Eighties. I was on £90 a week and the top-paid players were on £300 a week. I only wanted the same as the top players but I was told that if I didn't take Celtic's contract offer of £90 then I would be sold. Is this how things are playing out just now with Juranovic and Giakoumakis?
"My concern is that Postecoglou could end up getting frustrated with the club's approach when he is trying to build something. Brendan Rodgers left the Parkhead managerial hotseat in 2019 because he wasn't happy with the way things were going. I can't see Postecoglou taking any nonsense from the hierarchy, so I hope it doesn't end the same way for him as it did for Rodgers. I just hope the Australian has a say in these calls on his players' futures and that they aren't being made by others."
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