Legia president's defiant message to Polish media over Josip Juranovic to Celtic

By David Walton

September 15, 2021

Legia Warsaw president Dariusz Mioduski has delivered a defiant message to the Polish press over the departure of Josip Juranovic to Celtic.

The Croatian international left the Polish side after only a year at the club. Instead, he would head for Celtic Park in a £2.5m move [Scottish Sun].

Many viewed that as a relatively cheap figure given the fact that Juranovic was a regular for the club and a part of Croatia’s Euro 2020 squad.

However, this is a notion Legia chief Mioduski has been keen to put to bed. Instead, he told the Polish media that this was a great deal for Legia given how the transfer market is, in his view, collapsing.

As quoted by Wezlo, Mioduski said: “I guess some people have low awareness of what is happening in the transfer market, which has collapsed in the last two years, and are living with big deals in the English league. 

“The amount we got for Juranovic is very good. Today, few clubs are looking for players for €3m-€4m. The big ones make spectacular transfers, the rest save. Juranović is the most sold football player in the league over 24 years of age, and a year and a half ago we bought him for PLN 400,000. Besides, we do not put players on the list, but sometimes they want to leave and these issues are initiated by managers. 

“Jura wanted to go to Celtic, and we expected him to leave. After he played at the Euros the interest was high, but in the end, only Celtic made a specific offer.”

Legia president not wrong; Josip Juranovic transfer a good deal all round

Legia managed to make a tidy profit on the player, which is something they’ll have hoped to do. When players want away, it makes it difficult for the club to hold onto them. Look at the risk Celtic took with Odsonne Edouard for example.

But this was a good deal all round, not just for Legia. After all, the player managed to get his step-up. Juranovic will now be experiencing a level of critique and intensity that he’s never experienced in his career.

You then have how the agreement worked for Celtic. The Hoops managed to finally solve their big left-back problem for a fraction of what Juranovic could be worth in the future. To pick up a player of his quality for £2.5m is a steal for the Hoops, but it’s something Legia clearly feel they had to accept.

So far, we’ve yet to really see much of the Croat. He’s only had time to get his teeth into two matches for the Hoops against Rangers and Ross County.

What he has shown is an impressive level of versatility. In his debut at Ibrox, Juranovic was operating down the left before taking over at right-back vs the Staggies. Outside of that, however, we’ve still to learn a lot more about him.

Hopefully, he’s ready to produce the goods in Real Betis tomorrow night. A big performance there will go a long way to him winning the hearts of the support.

In other news, The night Celtic man James McCarthy put the shackles on current Man City superstar