Insider ExWHUemployee has claimed that West Ham United could make a move for Josip Juranovic if his transfer fee is as low as some reports have suggested.
The defender had a pretty impressive World Cup and was part of a fine Croatia team who managed to finish third after beating Morocco in their final game.
Over the past few weeks, however, he has been linked with a move away from Celtic, and West Ham have been touted as a club that could be a destination for the full-back.
Adding to these rumours, Italian Sky Sport correspondent Gianluca Di Marzio has even reported that he could be on the move for as little as €6m (£5.25m).
According to Ex, the interest is genuine, and a move for the player could well be on the cards in the January transfer market if that really is the fee being requested.
When talking on The West Ham Way podcast, Ex said: “Josip Juranovic, who I also reported previously [as a transfer target], is a Croatian right-back at Celtic.
“Now apparently, Celtic have said that he’s available for €6m, which is a lot less than what was being reported. So if that’s the case, we could be interested in making a move there.”
TIF Thoughts on Josip Juranovic and West Ham…
Despite all this talk of a fee closer to £5.25m, pundit Chris Sutton has urged Celtic to hold firm and demand around £25m for their player after his fine performances in Qatar.
To be fair, the 27-year-old Croatian did impress at the World Cup, playing six times as his country made it all the way to the semi-finals, while according to Sofascore, he averaged a 7.13 player rating.
Judging by all the talk, it certainly looks as though Juranovic will be on the move soon, but it remains to be seen as to how much exactly he will cost. At €6m, we think West Ham would be foolish to pass up on this deal. But if that is the starting price, it seems unlikely that a number of other clubs wouldn’t also make a move and consequently drive the fee up anyway.