Josip Juranovic has now admitted Celtic ‘surprised’ the right-back when Ange Postecoglou signed Alistair Johnston in January. He only caught wind of the deal during the World Cup.
Friends informed Juranovic of Celtic’s move to sign Johnston while he was with the Croatia squad in Qatar. He did not expect Postecoglou would strengthen in his position in the mid-season sales. But the new recruits’ arrival would ultimately pave the way for his departure.
Celtic agreed to terms with MLS franchise Montreal Impact last December to sign Johnston for £3m. The 24-year-old also put pen to paper on a four-year contract to head to Glasgow in January. He has since been Postecoglou’s first choice at right-back with 10 appearances.
Juranovic, meanwhile, would leave Parkhead in the winter market and joined Union Berlin for £7.5m, rising to £10m after add-ons. He had spent the prior 18 months with Celtic after a £2.5m move from Legia Warsaw. The 27-year-old would amass 53 outings for the Hoops.
Yet Postecoglou had begun to edge away from Juranovic before the full-back flew to Qatar for the World Cup. The 2022 bronze medallist played 18 games across all competitions for the Bhoys this term. But he had only played in four Premiership matches since September.
Celtic ‘surprised’ Josip Juranovic by signing Alistair Johnston
Juranovic started this term as Celtic’s first choice at right-back. But Postecoglou lost faith in the Zagreb native at the start of October and would leave him as an unused substitute in six Premiership games. Anthony Ralston emerged as the Hoops manager’s top choice, instead.
Ralston suffering a back injury would, briefly, offer Juranovic a route back to the pitch after Reo Hatate faced Hibernian. But Johnston’s transfer spelt the end for Juranovic as a Celtic player. Yet he did not initially expect it to lead to an exit, nor did he not expect a new rival.
Juranovic said, via the Daily Record: “To be honest, I was a little bit surprised because I was playing in the World Cup and preparing for my next game.
“Some of my friends called me and said they’d signed a new full-back [and asking:] ‘What’s your opinion about that?’ I was just putting it to the side and concentrating on the World Cup as it’s the biggest stage in football and I wanted to perform well.
“In my mind, I was thinking we would have three full-backs and someone will be on the bench and someone in the stands with their family.”
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