Signed for £3.5m million: Celtic strike gold with talent who is now worth about £10 Million

Celtic had a busy month in August, with a number of transfers completed for players arriving at Parkhead and departing from Glasgow.

Brendan Rodgers was able to sign Paulo Bernardo and Adam Idah on permanent contracts to bolster his squad after they were first loaned out during the 2023/24 season, following signing Kasper Schmeichel and Viljami Sinisalo the month before.

The Hoops then became busier towards the close of the summer transfer window, bringing in Alex Valle on loan from Barcelona before adding Arne Engels, Luke McCowan, and Auston Trusty on deadline.

Michael Johnston was one player who was permitted to leave permanently, joining Championship club West Bromwich Albion, but he was not the only star to leave Parkhead.

Matt O’Riley, a Danish centre midfielder, departed to join Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League for a reported sum of more than £25 million, setting a Scottish and Celtic transfer record.

It will be intriguing to watch whether the midfield genius succeeds in England, like Virgil van Dijk, or suffers and loses value, like Gary Hooper.

After a successful period in Scotland, Celtic sold versatile defender Josip Juranovic at the perfect time.

How much Celtic paid for Josip Juranovic

In the summer of 2021, the Scottish giants reportedly paid £2.5 million to sign the right-back from Legia Warsaw on a five-year contract.

The Croatia international had a fantastic debut season in Glasgow, demonstrating his quality in and out of possession while playing both left and right back.

Juranovic appeared in 26 Scottish Premiership matches under Ange Postecoglou during the 2021/22 season, helping his team keep 11 clean sheets while winning 56% of his duels.

In those games, the skilled ace scored three goals and assisted once. However, he was disappointed to conclude the season with only one assist despite creating four ‘big opportunities’ and making 1.3 critical passes per game on average, implying that his teammates let him down with their poor finishing.

Juranovic then scored one goal and assisted once in ten Premier League appearances under Postecoglou in the second half of the 2022/23 season.

Following an excellent 18 months in Glasgow, Bundesliga club Union Berlin swooped in to sign the Croatian gem for a reputed cost of up to £10 million during the January transfer window in early 2023.

This demonstrates that Celtic struck gold when they signed the defender for £2.5 million from Legia Warsaw, as his value skyrocketed during his time at Parkhead, and they made a big profit on him despite having the full-back at the club for less than two seasons.

The Hoops also struck gold with Juranovic, as his value has dropped since moving to Germany, rather than increasing.

Josip Juranovic’s current market value

At the time of writing (23/09/2024), Transfermarkt values the 29-year-old defender at €7.5m (£6.3m) and this means that his value has plummeted since moving on from the Hoops.