Atletico needing to sell before they can buy despite that Josip Juranovic link | OneFootball

When the news broke of Atletico Madrid retaining an interest in Celtic’s Croatian full-back Josip Juranovic, we all unanimously sighed in a feeling of deep resignation. It would just be typical for this type of situation to arise just as we had such a buzz off of the back of last season and the achievements Ange and his players gave to the Celtic supporters.

When Fabrizio Romano updated us all it carried even more weight than before; as a man in the know when it comes to transfer dealings throughout Europe and beyond, his words are often founded in substance. Sure Juranovic is a great player. Sure he was a bargain for that price. And sure enough he had a fantastic season for us. But nobody actually thought he would be leaving after his first season. That would just have been a nonsense idea.

Josip Juranovic celebrates after scoring during the Cinch Scottish Premiership match between Celtic FC and Hibernian FC at on January 17, 2022.. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

But when the name Atletico Madrid popped up, then we began to start taking the concept of life without Jura seriously. They are by no means Barcelona or Real Madrid, but they are still a European heavyweight and boast a phenomenal head coach who has split the hegemony of the big two in Spain whilst in the dugout. It would be a tempting destination no doubt.

However, a new piece of information has come to light regarding a potential bid from Atletico for out star right-back – they will have to reassess their fiscal policy and may need to sell before they buy, according to Football Scotland. The article stated that Atletico Madrid President, Enrique Cezero, had spoken to publication AS.com regarding their summer recruitment drive and revealed they are in the market for a right sided defender, but that they may need to move people on first before they make any additions to their squad.

Josip Juranovic of Celtic celebrates with teammate Jota after scoring their side’s first goal from the penalty spot during the UEFA Europa League group G match between Bayer Leverkusen and Celtic FC at BayArena on November 25, 2021 (Photo by Lukas Schulze/Getty Images)

He said to AS.com: “I think that in order to sign we all need to sell. We’ll see who it’s sold to and who it’s bought from. Well, the midfield we already have. It is Witsel, which as you all know is practically done, and the right-side we are looking for it.”

It’s a positive – for now. There is no denying that Josip will be highly sought after and will go on to a bigger stage with a higher salary after he leaves Celtic Park. But, in the meantime, it would be nice to have a crack at the Champions League group stages for once with a full complement of our best players. Do that, and who knows – it may even encourage him to stay!

Paul Gillespie

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