Josip Juranovic could be on his way to the Premier League just months after leaving Celtic with reports in Germany linking Fulham with the Union Berlin full-back.
The Croatia international, Kicker say, is ‘not entirely satisfied’ with his playing time at arguably Europe’s greatest overperformers; Union Berlin going from the lower leagues to the Champions League in the blink of an eye.
A £10 million signing from Scottish giants Celtic in January, Josip Juranovic did not even get off the bench during this weekend’s 4-1 hammering of Mainz.
And while the World Cup semi-finalist is not desperate to leave before the window closes next week, do not rule out Juranovic having his head turned if Fulham step up their interest.
Fulham eye former Celtic ace Josip Juranovic
The Cottagers are lookout for full-backs. Then again, a starting spot would not be guaranteed at Fulham either. Juranovic would find himself in direct competition with Kenny Tete; one of the most consistent right-sided defenders in the Premier League last season. And while the former Celtic ace is capable of thriving on the left as well, Marco Silva already has Antonee Robinson and new £19 million signing Calvin Bassey at his disposal.
Bassey, who came up against Juranovic in the Old Firm derby, joined Fulham from Ajax this summer, just one year after becoming the most expensive export in Rangers’ history.
Fulham had shown an interest in Gonzalo Montiel; the Argentina international who scored those winning penalties in the finals of the World Cup and the Europa League. Montiel, however, is joining Nottingham Forest instead.
Forest have agreed a £9.4 million deal with Sevilla, per the Daily Mail.
Champions League football on the horizon
As far as Union Berlin director Oliver Ruhnert is concerned, however, the arrival of players as talented and as experienced as Juranovic is testament to just how far his club have come in such a short space of time, Champions League qualification secured for the first ever time after a fourth-place finish in 2022/23.
“We came at the right moment with players like Juranovic and (Aissa) Ladouni. A few years ago, (these) 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.
“Both are very positive guys in the dressing room. That is extremely gratifying. That’s exactly what we wanted.”
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