Josip Juranovic has now explained the ‘main reason’ behind why he sought to leave Celtic for Union Berlin. The right-back secured his transfer to the Bundesliga side during January.
Celtic gave Juranovic permission to move to Germany after agreeing an upfront £7.5m fee with Die Eisernen. The 27-year-old could also end up costing Union Berlin £10m after add-ons over his four-year contract. Even though he only cost the Hoops £2.5m to sign in 2021.
The Bhoys brought the Croatia international to Glasgow in Ange Postecoglou’s first market at the helm from Legia Warsaw. He also put pen to paper on a five-year contract to switch to Parkhead. But Celtic let Juranovic depart after the parties failed to agree on a new deal.
Reports by Sky Sports claimed Celtic opened talks with Juranovic’s representatives over an improved contract. The Hoops were eager to improve his £16k-a-week contract to fend off interest from Barcelona. Chelsea also studied a move after Reece James suffered an injury.
The Sunday Post (11/12, back page) even named Manchester United, Newcastle and West Ham as potential options for Juranovic. While The Scottish Sun credited AC Monza with an interest and the Daily Record reported Celtic told Torino they wanted £17m in December.
New Union Berlin star Juranovic now explains why he sought a transfer from Celtic
Now, new Union Berlin star Juranovic has explained that he sought to leave Celtic over the January transfer window over fears he would lose his place in the Croatia team. The 27-cap dynamo started six of their seven fixtures at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar over the winter.
“I knew I would maybe not play two games in a row and maybe play the third one,” said Juranovic, via quotes by the Daily Record. “I didn’t like some of that stuff because of the national team.
“If you are not playing regularly for your club, you won’t get called up for the national team. That’s the main reason why I left.”
Juranovic also played in every minute of Croatia’s Group F, Round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final ties in Qatar. Zlatko Dalic only benched the full-back for the third-place play-off, which Vatreni won 2-1 against Morocco. He also registered one assist to beat Canada 4-1.
It was only after Juranovic secured his transfer to Celtic that the new Union Berlin star was a mainstay for Croatia. He made his debut in January 2017 but did not feature again before November 2019. He would also drop in and out of the XI before becoming a Hoops player.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
