Celtic struck gold with star who’s now worth millions less

Celtic had a busy month in August with a number of transfer dealings completed for players to arrive at Parkhead and to move on from Glasgow.

Brendan Rodgers was able to bring in Paulo Bernardo and Adam Idah on permanent deals to bolster his squad, after they were initially on loan during the 2023/24 campaign, having landed Kasper Schmeichel and Viljami Sinisalo the previous month.

The Hoops then got busier towards the end of the summer transfer window as they landed Alex Valle on loan from Barcelona, before signing Arne Engels, Luke McCowan, and Auston Trusty on deadline day.

Michael Johnston was one player who was allowed to leave on a permanent basis, joining Championship side West Bromwich Albion, but he was not the only ace to depart Parkhead.

Danish central midfielder Matt O’Riley left to join Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League for a reported fee of more than £25m, which is a Scottish and Celtic record transfer fee.

It will be interesting to see whether the midfield wizard goes on to be a roaring success in England, like Virgil van Dijk, or struggles and plummets in value, like Gary Hooper.

One player Celtic played a masterclass by selling at the right time was versatile defender Josip Juranovic, after his impressive spell in Scotland.

How much Celtic paid for Josip Juranovic

In the summer of 2021, the Scottish giants reportedly splashed out a fee of £2.5m to sign the right-back from Legia Warsaw on a five-year deal.

The Croatia international hit the ground running in Glasgow with an impressive debut season, as he showcased his quality in and out of possession, whilst being deployed at left-back and right-back during his time in Scotland.

Juranovic played 26 matches in the Scottish Premiership during the 2021/22 campaign, under Ange Postecoglou, and helped his side to keep 11 clean sheets in those games – winning 56% of his duels in total.

The talented ace also scored three goals and recorded one assist in those matches. However, he was unfortunate to end the season with one assist because he created four ‘big chances’ and made 1.3 key passes per game on average, which suggests that his teammates let him down with their wasteful finishing.

Juranovic then scored one goal and provided one assist in ten Premiership outings during the second half of the 2022/23 campaign under Postecoglou.

During the January transfer window at the start of 2023, Bundesliga side Union Berlin swooped in to sign the Croatian gem for a reported fee of up to £10m, following on from his impressive 18 months in Glasgow.

This shows that Celtic hit the jackpot when they signed the defender for £2.5m from Legia Warsaw because his value soared during his time at Parkhead and they made a significant profit on him, despite having the full-back at the club for less than two full seasons.

The Hoops also struck gold with Juranovic because he has not gone from strength to strength since making the move to Germany, instead dropping in value.

Josip Juranovic’s current market value

At the time of writing (23/09/2024), Transfermarkt values the 29-year-old defender at €7.5m (£6.3m) and this means that his value has plummeted since moving on from the Hoops.

Celtic, therefore, hit the jackpot by selling him for up to £10m as his value has dropped by millions in the subsequent 18 months or so since that move was completed.

This shows that the Scottish giants cashed in on him at the right time instead of holding on too long and allowing his value to drop during his time at Parkhead. They sold him for a significant fee, and a profit on what they initially paid for him, and have now watched on as his value has dropped.

Juranovic has produced two goals and four assists in the Bundesliga since his move to Berlin but has struggled with the physicality of the game in Germany.

He lost 70% of his aerial duels in the 2022/23 campaign, winning 0.3 per match, and then lost 57% of his aerial contests in the 2023/24 season, winning just 0.1 per game, which shows that opposition players have found it too easy to beat him in the air.

Ahead of the January transfer window that Juranovic was sold in, Celtic swooped to sign Alistair Johnston from CF Montreal for a reported fee of £3.5m, possibly in anticipation that the Croatian would leave, and that has turned out to be a blinder of a deal.

Alistair Johnston’s current market value

At the time of writing (23/09/2024), the Canada international is valued at €8.5m (£7.1m) by Transfermarkt and this means that he is currently worth more than Juranovic.

It also means that his value has soared since arriving at Parkhead for a fee of £3.5m, which shows that the Hoops struck gold when they signed the impressive full-back for Postecoglou.

His performances on the pitch for Celtic also back up his impressive value, as he outperformed Juranovic’s first full Premiership campaign in his first full year in the division after an initial five-month spell at the club prior to the 2023/24 season.

As you can see in the table above, they offered a similar level of quality defensively but Johnston was significantly more creative from his right-back berth, with over twice as many ‘big chances’ created and five times as many assists, in six more appearances.

The Canadian whiz has also enjoyed a terrific start to the current campaign, with one goal and four ‘big chances’ created in five Premiership appearances, and could see his value continue to soar if his current level of form continues throughout the rest of the season.

Therefore, Celtic should be delighted with their business in selling Juranovic for a significant fee and investing in Johnston for £3.5m, as it has turned out brilliantly for them on all fronts as it stands.