West Ham United want Josip Juranovic but are allegedly sceptical that they can actually bring the Celtic defender to East London.
That’s according to transfer insider Dean Jones, who was speaking to Give Me Sport about Juranovic.
Jones claims that West Ham don’t want their interest to be used as a reason to bump up Juranovic’s price – and there are fears that it’s already happening.
West Ham therefore seemingly don’t believe that Juranovic will be heading to the London Stadium in January.
Juranovic was outstanding at the World Cup with Croatia, turning in superb displays to help them reach the semi-finals.
Celtic now have every right to bump up the price tag on Juranovic, especially considering the clubs who want him.
The Sunday Post (11/12, back page) reported that Chelsea, Manchester United and Newcastle United are all interested alongside West Ham.
West Ham still need a right back even if Josip Juranovic doesn’t join
Even if it isn’t Juranovic who ends up joining West Ham in January, the Hammers must still push for a new addition there.
Vladimir Coufal’s form has tailed off in recent times and Ben Johnson doesn’t exactly look like the long-term solution there.
Add in that Harrison Ashby looks set to leave the club in January and right back could become a priority for West Ham.
With Juranovic’s price tag probably heading north of £15million though, West Ham will probably want to find a cheaper alternative.
This situation will be frustrating for West Ham, who recently appointed scout Mick Doherty after he served as Celtic’s European first-team scout.
Doherty will have surely played a key role in Juranovic joining Celtic in the first place and taking him to West Ham would have been perfect.
Yet with other clubs with bigger budgets now moving in, it looks like West Ham will need to look elsewhere.
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