Southampton 'interested' in signing 'quality' £15m star at St Mary's | OneFootball

Southampton are one of the sides interested in signing Celtic defender Josip Juranovic this January, journalist Fabrizio Romano has informed GiveMeSport.

The 27-year-old has been linked with a host of top clubs from across the continent after a string of impressive displays for both club and country over the last 18 months.

Southampton transfer news – Josip Juranovic

Back in August, the Daily Mail revealed that Manchester United, Chelsea, and Atletico Madrid were all monitoring Juranovic’s situation at Celtic.

It was claimed that the Hoops valued the Croatia international at around £15 million and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reported that he was ‘expected to leave’ Glasgow during the summer.

Despite the intense speculation surrounding Juranovic’s future, he ended up staying put at Parkhead but now appears destined to depart in the winter window.

The Athletic have disclosed that Southampton have narrowed down their search for a new right-back to two players: Luton Town’s James Bree and Juranovic.

It’s believed that both players would cost in the region of £4 million to £6 million this month, meaning the Saints could secure themselves a bargain deal.

What has Romano said about Juranovic?

When asked if Southampton are among Juranovic’s potential suitors, Romano revealed that they are but also left the door open to other clubs showing an interest.

He said: “Yes, there is Southampton. Monza in Italy made a proposal a few days ago, but then they’re going to sign Pol Lirola of Olympique Marseille, so this is not happening.

“And let’s see if some other clubs will move because we know the right-back market is still interesting.”

Would Juranovic be a good signing?

Juranovic has been a key player for Celtic since arriving from Legia Warsaw in a £2.5 million deal back in 2021, registering six goals and three assists in 53 appearances.

The versatile full-back has claimed one Scottish Premiership title and one League Cup crown during his time under Ange Postecoglou while putting up some impressive underlying numbers.

1 of 8

Do you know this obscure player Celtic signed in the January transfer window?

Rocco Quinn Manny Perez Patryk Klimala Andrew Gutman

As per FBref, Juranovic has ranked in the 97th percentile for progressive passes, and the 81st for both expected assists and pass completion amongst his positional peers over the last year.

Juranovic also starred for Croatia as they finished third at the World Cup last year, playing every minute in the tournament until their third-place play-off victory over Morocco, leading to him being labelled “quality” and “outstanding”.