Josip Juranovic tipped to banish Celtic ‘myth’ after Sky transfer update – pundit
Noel Whelan has insisted moving to Celtic and the Scottish Premiership can be an established pathway to the world’s top clubs as Josip Juranovic prepares for a “big-money” exit.
The former Leeds and Aberdeen striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, claimed stars will “relish” coming to Parkhead because of the “huge fanbase” and the likelihood of winning trophies.
As per Sky Sports (19 December) Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and two Premier League sides are now interested in Juranovic, 27, after he was signed for a reported £2.5million just last summer.
This interest comes after the right-back played a key role for Croatia at the World Cup – playing 600 minutes across six games to claim a bronze medal.
Sources told this site last month (30 November) that Celtic were confident of securing a big-money fee for Juranovic and were open to selling him in January.
The Hoops have already moved to add Canada international Alastair Johnson, who could prove to be a long-term successor for Juranovic at right-back.
When asked about Juranovic’s potential exit, Whelan told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “Look at Henrik Larsson. He came to Celtic and had no problems moving on to a big club like Barcelona.
“It’s a myth to say that you can’t go from Scotland to some of the best clubs in the world.
“I think players coming to the club now will relish coming to Celtic. It’s a massive club, a huge fanbase – and you’re in the mix to win trophies every single season.
“These players know they’re at a big club – and they’re bringing in the right players. They’ve got the attitude to know that they have to succeed at Celtic in order to get these big moves.
“Juranovic is another example of that. He can get them big money – which just means they can go out and strengthen again.”
In other news, pundit claims defender may quit Celtic for Premiership rivals after update.