The World Cup is at its final stages. One half of the final is already set, with Argentina making it by defeating Croatia. That also brought an end to Josip Juranovic’s outstanding campaign in Qatar. The Celtic right-back had a terrific time and should return to Glasgow with his head held high. The Croatian national team was not given much of a chance going into the tournament but they overdelivered once again.
Now though, it remains to be seen what the future holds for Juranovic. Rumours have linked him with a move away from Parkhead as early as January with talks over a contract extension believed to have led nowhere.
Some of the top clubs in Europe are believed to be interested in Juranovic though, after what was a terrific World Cup campaign from him. And one of the clubs in the race to sign him appears to be Everton.
As reported by The Sun, Everton are trailing Barcelona and Europe’s elite in the chase for Juranovic’s signature.
Lampard’s Everton linked with Celtic standout
Celtic and Everton faced off against each other when the two sides met in the Sydney Super Cup in Australia. Being played during the World Cup break, Juranovic was not involved in the game.
The right-back made it furthest out of Celtic’s four representatives at the tournament. He had some highlight performances, and him keeping Vinicius Jr quiet in the quarter-final game between Croatia and Brazil will live long in the memory. Daizen Maeda (Japan), Aaron Mooy (Australia) and Cameron Carter-Vickers (USA), were all knocked out from the round of 16.
Juranovic’s displays at the World Cup, combined with his performances for Celtic since arriving in the summer of 2021, mean that the Hoops can expect to get a big transfer fee out of his exit, if or when they decide to part ways with the Croatian.
There is a good chance that it could be this January, with Juranovic’s transfer value at its peak after the World Cup. And even if Everton are interested in the player, Goodison Park seems like an unlikely destination for him, considering the likes of Barcelona, Manchester United, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and several other teams are being linked with him.