CHELSEA are poised to revive their interest in Celtic right-back Josip Juranovic.
The London side could accelerate their move for the Croatian World Cup star after Reece James limped off in the 2-0 Premier League win over Bournemouth last night.
The England international No.2 was making his long-awaited comeback from the knee injury that kept him sidelined for three months and ruled him out of the soccer showpiece in Qatar.
Stamford Bridge boss Graham Potter now has Juranovic on his radar and the defender “could cost as little as £8million,” according to a report in the Daily Mail.
WORLD AT HIS FEET…Josip Juranovic was a star performer for Croatia in Qatar.
Chris Sutton, who was Martin O’Neill’s first signing at £6million from the London team in the summer of 2000, rates the Hoops star in the £25million bracket.
That seems a more likely price tag than a paltry £8million for a 27-year-old full-back who was named in the World Cup Team of the Year and who totally nullified the menace of Brazilian superstar Vinicius Junior when the countries met in the quarter-final with Croatia winning the penalty-kick shoot-out.
CQN wonders where some of the valuations come from when there is transfer interest across the border for Celtic players.
Why would a seasoned international player cost such a measly fee when Manchester United paid £50million to Crystal Palace in 2019 for their right-back Aaron Wan-Bassaka?
Does anyone with even a scintilla of football knowledge really believe the Old Trafford player, who is only two years younger than Juranovic, is worth more than SIX times that of the Hoops player?
Juranovic won his 27th full cap for his country in the World Cup semi-final loss to Leo Messi-inspired Argentina, the eventual winners of the global extravaganza. Unfortunately, a calf injury kept the Parkhead man out of Croatia’s third-place play-off triumph over Morocco.
Wan-Bassaka has yet to kick a ball for England, the nation of his birth, and may switch his allegiance to DR Congo, for whom he can play through family links.
YOU’RE HAVING A LAUGH…how Ange Postecoglou could react to £8million valuation of Josip Juranovic.
Ange Postecoglou is to be congratulated for his work done in the transfer market since he arrived as boss in June last year and landing Juranovic for £2.5million from Legia Warsaw was a great piece of business.
However, just because the Celtic manager can spot a bargain should not mean that any other valuations should be based on that particular fee.
Juranovic, in fact, cost the Poles only £350,000 when he joined from Hajduk Split the year before the Celtic switch. The Hoops offer was not governed by that financial outlay.
Wan-Bassaka, by the way, made his first appearance of the season in United’s 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest last night.
He got the nod to play from gaffer Erik ten Hag because Diogo Dalot sustained an injury playing for Portugal in the World Cup.
Wan-Bissaka went missing under interim boss Ralf Rangnick and had featured for only FOUR MINUTES in the past eight months.
So, if there is English interest in Juranovic when the transfer window opens next week it would be advisable to make offers to the champions that will not be a waste of everyone’s time.
With Peter Lawwell returning as chairman on Sunday, you can be certain Celtic will get top dollar for their player – if, of course, they decide to sell.
* DON’T miss the unbeatable match report and best action images from Hibs v Celtic this evening – only in your champion CQN.
