Barcelona ready to test Celtic for £20m Josip Juranovic – but there’s a catch to Catalan bid for Croatia World Cup star

CELTIC are braced for an approach from Barcelona for right-back Josip Juranovic.

The £20million-rated Croatia star had a storming World Cup.

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Juranovic was one of Croatia’s main men in Qatar.[/caption]

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He faced up to some of the world’s best on the way to a third-placed finish.[/caption]

And that’s seen a number of clubs step up their plans of making a move for him during next month’s January transfer window – including Barca.

SunSport first revealed La Liga outfits Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad were watching the 27-year-old in action in Qatar.

Atleti boss Diego Simeone instructed his scouting department to run the rule over Juranovic when he played against Brazil in Doha. 

Now Barca are believed to have joined the queue of clubs pinpointing him as a mid-season target having been blown away by his World Cup displays.

Croatia finished third in the competition to win a bronze medal with Juranovic widely praised as one of their main men.

The cash-strapped Catalan club don’t have mega-money to spend in the transfer market due to FFP restrictions imposed on them. 

Crucially they may even need to sell before they can buy.

But it’s understood Nou Camp boss Xavi is still hoping to strengthen his squad with Juranovic’s name mentioned as a potential signing target.

Celts are now fully expecting to receive major offers for the player when the window opens.

Ange Postecoglou has said consistently that he has no problem with his best players being sold – even warning supporters that’s the way forward for Celts.

But the Premiership league leaders are also determined to get top dollar.

With a number of clubs planning to swoop for Juranovic it puts the club in a strong position to sell to the highest bidder.

Juranovic has made it clear he sees his future elsewhere having rejected the offer of a new deal.

A big money move to Spain is likely to excite him but there are also top clubs in England interested.

Juranovic joined Celts for £2million from Legia Warsaw and is under contract until the summer of 2026.

But Celts are willing to cash in now with the player attracting major attention on the back of his World Cup displays.

Postecoglou has already signed his replacement with Canada right-back Alistair Johnston snapped up from CF Montreal for £3million.

The stopper has put pen to paper on a five-year deal.

Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page

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