West Ham United must blow rivals out of water for Josip Juranovic after Sky Sports update
West Ham must blow Chelsea out of the water to sign Josip Juranovic from Celtic in the January transfer window.
According to a report from Sky Sports (28 December), Chelsea are looking to sign Juranovic to replace the injured Reece James, as “breaking” news emerged this afternoon.
The Blues have already held internal talks for the right-back who was outstanding during the World Cup for Croatia.
“Chelsea are one of number of clubs looking at Celtic right back Josip Juranovic. We’re told internal talks have taken place,” reported by Sky Sports.
Foot365 journalist Ignazio Genuardi wrote on 20 December that the Hammers are keen to sign the defender but they will have to pay at least £17.5 million.
The Hammers have been scouting him for a while with 90Min reporting on 30 November that the Hammers are impressed by him.
With Chelsea now taking a step ahead, it’s going to be an intense battle to sign Juranovic. La Liga giants Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are also in the hunt to sign him.
West Ham may need to offload Vladimir Coufal to bring in a quality player like Juranovic, but they will have to pay a premium price.
Having spent over £150 million, it doesn’t look like David Moyes will be given enough funds to add new players. But Coufal’s potential exit could be a solution.
Celtic are prepared to keep him at the club. However, with so many big clubs vying for his signature the Bhoys probably will look for the best deal possible.
West Ham can lure him with the offer of regular first-team football, something he may not find at other big clubs and it could be a major pulling factor.