New signing Josip Juranovic was thrown into the Celtic deep end at Ibrox this afternoon, and he’s come out of it with big credit from the Parkhead support.
Ange Postecoglou made the bold decision to throw his new man into the mix. Interestingly, however, it wasn’t Anthony Ralston who dropped out. Instead, Greg Taylor was left sitting out after picking up an injury against AZ Alkmaar with Juranovic being given his spot.
The big talking point heading into the game this afternoon was the debut of the Croatian international. Juranovic was playing only his fifth game as a left-back [Transfermarkt], yet he ended the match as one of Celtic’s most productive players.
The former Legia man was a standout. Despite being stronger on his right peg, the new signing looked just as comfortable on his left. He was happy to take the ball under pressure and keep it moving in a bid to beat the press.
Not to mention he was constantly looking to get forward and support Kyogo Furuhashi in the final third. Juranovic displayed the engine he has to the Celtic supporters today, as well as the character he carries considering the magnitude of this fixture for a debut appearance. He wasn’t out of place and wasn’t flustered by the Ibrox atmosphere either.
Josip Juranovic proves he can play in multiple positions for Celtic
Celtic fans were expecting him to be a long-term solution to the right-back positon. However, taking into account his apparent versatility and efficiency on the other side, Postecoglou appears to have a new left-back option too.
Nobody can take away from the fact today ended in defeat. Even in a derby match, that’s a big blow. Nobody can pretend, therefore, that today was anything other than a bad one for Celtic. But from it came some shoots of positivity, and Juranovic was certainly one of them.
That’s something the Celtic fans evidently agreed with also as they hailed the new signing post-match. Here’s a look at how the Hoops support reacted to Josip’s display:
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