Union Berlin did not expect their pursuit of Josip Juranovic to ‘work out’ before agreeing an initial £7.5 million with Celtic, the Bundesliga club’s managing director Oliver Ruhnert tells BILD.
Even before the crafty Croatian arrived during the January transfer window, surprise packages Union Berlin were arguably the Bundesliga’s most effective side from set-pieces. Now, supplement the aerial prowess of Danilho Doekhi and co with Juranovic’s deadly delivery, and you’ve got a killer cocktail.
Juranovic has grabbed an assist in both of his Union appearances thus far, helping ensure that Urs Fischer’s fairytale could still have a Hollywood ending. Union, promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time ever in 2019, are concocting their own Leicester City-style story in Germany; sitting second and just one point behind a flawed Bayern Munich outfit.
Even if they do fall short in their remarkable title push, Champions League qualification would be one hell of a consolation.
And Ruhnert admits that, if Union Berlin had not enjoyed such an incredible rise over the last few seasons, players such as Juranovic and former Ferencvaros talisman Aissa Laidouni – another winter addition – would have remained out of reach.
Josip Juranovic joins Bundesliga challengers Union Berlin from Celtic
“We came at the right moment with players like Juranovic and Ladouni. A few years ago, players would probably have said ‘no’. But you see that work has been done successfully here in recent years. That makes it easier for you (to say ‘yes’),” Ruhnert explains.
“At first, we had the expectation that (the Juranovic deal) would probably not work out. We stuck with it, and were rewarded in the end.
“We had (Laidouni) on our radar for a long time. It was never realistic (before) but, like with Juranovic, we came at the right moment.
“Both are very positive guys in the dressing room. That is extremely gratifying. That’s exactly what we wanted.”
According to Sky Sports, Union paid an initial £7.5 million – rising to £10 million – for Juranovic. Celtic are not exactly missing the World Cup semi-finalist, however, Canada international Alistair Johnston stepping into Juranovic’s shoes quite effortlessly.
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