Xavi headache as Barcelona transfer target produces nightmare display

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 3 Jan 2023 19:07 GMT
• 4 min read

Josip Juranovic has been linked with a potential January transfer to Barcelona, but the Celtic right-back did little to help his cause during Monday’s Old Firm meeting with Rangers.

Juranovic is considered to be a reliable performer with the Scottish club and impressed as Croatia finished third at the 2022 World Cup, yet there have been questions asked as to whether he is capable of stepping up to the type of level that Barcelona demand.

Nevertheless, interest from Chelsea and Manchester United shows that they are not the only club with the belief that he can make the leap – even at the age of 27.

MORE: The price Man Utd and Barcelona have to pay for Juranovic

Barca have long had headaches in the right-back role and offloaded Sergino Dest to Milan in the summer after he failed to make the grade at Camp Nou.

It is a position that continues to cause head coach Xavi a headache, and it has been suggested that Juranovic would be a possible signing in that area given that he would come relatively cheap. FootballTransfers values the player at just €4 million, although it is reported that Celtic are angling for more like €19m.

Juranovic fails to impress against Rangers

The 27-year-old’s display against Rangers, though, will not have filled any watching Barcelona scouts with confidence.

He arrived in the game in difficult circumstances as he replaced the injured Greg Taylor in the first half, but thereafter he struggled to get up to the pace of the game.

While he was guilty of a poor positional error that led to Rangers making it 1-1 in a match that ultimately finished 2-2, Barcelona will also be alarmed with how erratic he was in possession. Indeed, he completed only 76% of his passes, which compared unfavourably to debutant Canada international Alistair Johnston in the right-back area. In total, Juranovic completed just 25 accurate passes in the match.

Similarly, he had a tough match defensively as he was Celtic’s only player to be dribbled twice, although he did make three tackles.

Nevertheless, there was little in Juranovic’s performance that suggested that Barcelona will be hurrying to make a January bid for the player.