ANGE POSTECOGLOU says he is ignoring speculation linking Josip Juranovic with a move away from the club following his impressive displays at the World Cup with Croatia, and he has backed his player to do the same.
The Celtic right-back has received widespread praise for a series of eye-catching displays as the Croats stormed to the semi-finals of the tournament in Qatar before losing to Argentina, and has been the subject of interest from the likes of Atletico Madrid and Manchester United.
Postecoglou is glad though that his player is getting the attention and the credit he feels he deserves, and doesn’t think it will affect him when he returns to Celtic.
“I don’t even think about it,” Postecoglou said.
“At the end of the day, I hope all of our players are getting the attention because it means we have good players here.
“From my perspective, I think all our boys did really well at the World Cup and that’s a reflection of how they are developing as footballers at our football club.
“I think that is the most important thing and I’m sure a lot of our players are getting attention, and will continue to get attention, and that’s what we want.
“We want clubs looking at our players, we want people talking about our football club and I think they are all positive things.
“He’s been great, like all our boys. He’s done really well against world class opposition and was a key player on his country’s ride to the semi-final of a World Cup.
“That’s something he will have with him forever. He represented his country well, himself, his family and our football club. I’m really pleased for him.”
Juranovic is unlikely to play in the third-placed play-off match between Croatia and Morocco this afternoon as he is nursing a calf injury, but Postecoglou is looking forward to having him back in Glasgow.
“I don’t think he’s going to play, but he’ll have a week off the same as everyone else and then we’ll get him back into the building on Monday week,” he said.
Meanwhile, Postecoglou has also dismissed concerns about a possible transfer for striker Giorgos Giakoumakis, who has been linked with a lucrative switch to Saudi Arabia.
“What I deal with is what I see every day,” he said.
“He’s here, he’s training well, he’s contributing and I’m not really sure of anything beyond that. It’s not really on my radar.”
