Oliver Ruhnert admits he didn't expect to land Josip Juranovic from Celtic when he made his move during the January transfer window.
Ange Postecoglou brought the full-back to Parkhead from Legia Warsaw 18 months ago but after experiencing Champions League football and winning the Scottish Premiership and League Cup during his short stint in Glasgow, he opted for a new challenge. An impressive World Cup campaign with Croatia ended with speculation involving big named clubs like Chelsea, Barcelona and Manchester United - but it was Union Berlin who got the full-back on board in a coup for a deal reported to be worth £10million.
He's made an impressive start for the Bundesliga high-flyers with two assists in two games in the German top flight and the DFB-Pokal. But he's found himself on the bench in the last two games against Hertha Berlin and Mainz due to the return of skipper Christopher Trimmel. Speaking to Bild, The Union Berlin managing director said: “We came at the right moment with players like Juranovic and Ladouni. A few years ago, players would probably have said ‘no’. But you see that work has been done successfully here in recent years. That makes it easier for them.
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“At first, we had the expectation that (the Juranovic deal) would probably not work out. We stuck with it, and were rewarded in the end. We had (Laidouni) on our radar for a long time. It was never realistic (before) but, like with Juranovic, we came at the right moment.
“Both are very positive guys in the dressing room. That is extremely gratifying. That’s exactly what we wanted.”
Union are just ONE point behind league leaders Bayern Munich beyond the half way stage of the Bundesliga campaign and face a huge match this weekend at fellow title challengers RB Leipzig.
It is then Europa League duty against Dutch side Ajax while a meeting at home with Bayern comes before the end of the month in a crucial period for Juranovic and his new side.
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