Celtic told to let first-team star complete Parkhead exit

Celtic did a wonderful job holding onto the core of their Premiership-winning team over the course of the summer. Of course, Tom Rogic and Nir Bitton decided to bring the curtain down on their storied Parkhead careers at the end of last season, but other than that, Ange Postecoglou did not have to see any other key player leave the club.

That could end up changing in the January transfer window though, especially if one of their players end up catching the attention with their performances at the World Cup.

One first-team star who has been rumoured with an exit in recent times is Josip Juranovic as it is believed that the club and the player have failed to agree terms over a contract extension, and now, an exit is being considered after the World Cup when his transfer value could be at its peak.

It remains to be seen if that turns out to be the case or not, but Celtic have been told that they should not stand in Juranovic’s way if he wants to leave the club.

Celtic told to let first-team star leave if that is what he wants to do

As reported by Football Insider, Noel Whelan said:

"“If you’ve got a player who wants to go and experience other things, then you can’t stand in their way.“You just won’t get the best out of him if you keep him around.“The best way is just to deal with it amicably and find out the players’ intentions – and that looks to be what Celtic have done.“Sometimes it’s not even about money. It can be about lifestyle, family, and maybe even that ambition to play at a higher level.“If you make sure you can do the right thing for the player, and the right thing for the club in terms of transfer fee – everyone’s a winner.”"

Juranovic arrived at Celtic last summer from Legia Warsaw and has been a first-team regular in Postecoglou’s side from the very beginning.

Of course, he is a starter for the Croatia national team as well and all of that has combined to catch the eye of some of the biggest teams in Europe.

The likes of Atletico Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea have been linked with Juranovic in the past, and at 27 years of age, this might be the perfect time for the Croatian to take the next step in his career. So if he actually wants to leave, it should not come as a major surprise to anyone.