Josip Juranovic has had a busy few months for club and country, but there is no doubt the Celtic defender has become a hot commodity.
The 26-year-old arrived in Glasgow as part of a haul of new recruits in the summer of 2021, joining up with many of his Parkhead teammates for the Ange Postecoglou rebuild mission. The Croatian penned a five-year deal at the time and was acquired in what now appears to be a coup for £2.5m from Legia Warsaw, becoming an integral part of the Celtic furniture under the Australian boss.
Invariably the right-back garnered interest from some top clubs with Sky Sports reporting this year that La Liga giants Atletico Madrid were keen, while there has been talk of Premier League Leicester City and Manchester United being interested. Most recently, Juranovic appeared to stall on contract talks over a new deal at Parkhead with reports suggesting the Hoops are willing to listen to offers.
Not only has the 'Fireball' star had a more-than-impressive World Cup, his performances for Celtic on the European stage have at times been astounding. But what may have turned heads, and turned up the heat on a potential Celtic exit, was his showing against some of the world's best in Vinicius Jnr and Neymar when Croatia triumphed over Brazil this month.
But the Qatar tournament seems to have taken its toll on the fast defender as transfer guru Fabrizio Romano reports following the Argentina game the Celtic man will play no further part in the tournament, including Saturday's third-place play-off with Morocco. The Hoops are, of course, off to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen with the Croat not expected to be part of the squad.
But he could be available within the next week or so, meaning the earliest chance of him playing could be against Hibernian on December 28, just days prior to the Old Firm derby. Celtic face off with Livingston and St Johnstone before that Easter Road clash.
On the other hand Romano claims that the next few weeks could be crucial to his future, and revealed that discussions will be had. He said: "He will be back in 8/10 days — in the next weeks his future will be discussed as many clubs are keen on signing him."
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