Gary Neville has heaped praise on Josip Juranovic amid claims that Newcastle United want to lure him away from Celtic in 2023.
Celtic ace Juranovic started for Croatia on Tuesday night as they faced Argentina in the semi-finals of the World Cup.
It wasn’t to be for Croatia though as they were beaten 3-0 by Argentina, missing out on a second World Cup final in a row.
Lionel Messi scored from the spot for Argentina before Julian Alvarez bagged a brace to book their spot in the final.
Croatia battled away but just lacked the quality in the final third to make Argentina worry and also fell to Messi and co with some shaky defending.
That was the big disappointment for Croatia – their usually solid back four just couldn’t cope with the Argentina attack and crashed out in the last four.
Gary Neville has praised Celtic star Josip Juranovic
We know what to expect from Dejan Lovren whilst Josko Gvardiol looks set to be come a superstar, but even he was led on a merry dance by Messi.
Right back Juranovic has enjoyed a remarkable tournament and it’s form that Celtic fans have been seeing since his 2021 move from Legia Warsaw.
Celtic ultimately expect Juranovic to move on in January and a Premier League move could be on the cards.
The Sunday Post (11/12, back page) reported that four Premier League clubs are keen on Juranovic.
Chelsea, Manchester United and West Ham United were all mentioned and have been linked with the full back for some time.
Newcastle were added to the mix for the first time with Eddie Howe’s men seeking to sign another right back in 2023.
Newcastle have mostly been linked with younger right backs so far, such as Harrison Ashby and Cody Drameh.
Yet maybe Juranovic’s World Cup display have changed their approach with the Celtic star now wanted.
Gary Neville knows a thing or two about playing at right back and he has been blown away by Juranovic.
Neville told ITV Sport (13/12, 6:45pm) that he thinks Juranovic has been ‘absolutely brilliant’ in Qatar and especially ‘fantastic’ going forward.
Neville added that Juranovic has been a ‘real presence’ at the World Cup, giving him a big billing ahead of a potential Premier League move.
“Absolutely brilliant,” said Neville. “Juranovic is fantastic going forward, epitomises the modern day full-back – he’s bright, he’s lively, he’s not just serving the attack – he’s contributing to it. He’s been a real presence in this tournament on the right-hand side for Croatia,” he added.
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