Manchester United coach Steve McClaren has recommended Celtic defender Josip Juranovic to his boss, Erik ten Hag.
This is according to Dean Jones, who reports that McClaren is a strong advocate of the Croatia international and has mentioned his name to Ten Hag as the Dutch boss steps up his pursuit of a full-back.
This is not the first time that Juranovic has been linked with a move to Old Trafford.
He was linked to United over the summer but a move never came to fruition. It is expected he will now depart at the turn of the year when the transfer window opens.
It is not only the Red Devils that are suitors of Juranovic.
West Ham are known admirers of his. Over the summer, Celtic valued the player at £15m amidst interest from Chelsea and Atletico Madrid.
Jones reports on Juranovic, “As we said before, McClaren really likes this guy, and that’s where I’m told the recommendation comes from.”
“I guess, typically, Ten Hag is going to look to prefer his own guys over anyone else recommending people. But ultimately, he’s now been able to see him at the World Cup.”
“It’s a very easy way to scope out a player in real-time, especially when they’re playing games of their own.”
Juranovic is a player that comes with sufficient pedigree, despite playing in Scotland.
He has played every minute of Croatia’s World Cup tournament and is one of the side’s key men.
He earned himself praise for his gallant performance against Brazil in the quarter-finals. Juranovic recently disclosed that he’s not thinking about an exit with his attention firmly on Croatia, but now that they have crashed out of the tournament, his focus might be set to change.
