Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth has claimed that European giants Barcelona are keen on signing Celtic defender Josip Juranovic.
The host of Sky’s transfer talk podcast has also stated that two unnamed English Premier League clubs and Atletico Madrid are also interested.
Juranovic has been heavily linked with a move away from Parkhead in recent weeks, thanks to his performances at the World Cup.
The 27-year-old played all but one game for Croatia as they achieved a 3rd placed finish at the prestigious tournament out in Qatar.
During his nation’s run to the semi-finals, Juranovic put in several impressive performances, including picking up man of the match against Brazil.
This has led to plenty of transfer speculation, with clubs including Real Sociedad and Torino reportedly watching the right-back closely.
Interest was likely to continue rising as we approach the January transfer window, and according to Sky Sports, five-time Champions League winners Barcelona are interested in signing Juranovic.
Two unnamed English Premier League sides are believed to be monitoring the situation, whilst Atletico Madrid are also interested, having looked at the Celtic defender in the summer.
The race for the right back appears to be hotting up, with Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth delivering the latest update just weeks before the winter window.
Juranovic interest prepares to step up as Celtic brace for bids.
Even before the World Cup kicked off, Ange Postecoglou and Celtic were reportedly bracing for bids from clubs.
So after his performances at the World Cup, there was always going to be plenty of clubs lining up a potential move for the defender.
In the last week or so, the race has slowly started to hot up, with Torino reportedly being the first club to make contact with the Celtic hierarchy.
However, European giants Barcelona are now thought to be interested, alongside their fellow La Liga rivals and several English Premier League teams.
It should certainly be interesting to see where this race goes. One thing that is for sure is that Celtic are in the ideal position to negotiate a deal with Juranovic’s contract running until 2026.
Having already signed Alistair Johnston ahead of the January window, a replacement is also already in place.
So, it is now up to the clubs from across Europe to make their move for the defender and pay the required fee that Celtic should be demanding.
In other news, Celtic ace ‘confident’ crucial injury return will help end 26-game barren spell.
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