Fees via Transfermarkt.

Jota, Kyogo Furuhashi, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Matt O’Riley are just a few of the many superb additions that were made during the Australian tactician’s tenure with the Scottish giants.

One player, in particular, whom the club and Postecoglou struck gold on was right-back Josip Juranovic as they ended up making a significant profit on the talented defender.

How much did Celtic pay for Josip Juranovic?

The Hoops reportedly paid a fee of £2.5m to sign the full-back from Polish side Legia Warsaw in the summer of 2021, which was the manager’s first window in charge of the side.

Postecoglou moved to sign the then-26-year-old ace after a move failed to materialise for Antwerp right-back Aurelio Buta, who was a target for the club at the time.

The Portuguese dynamo stayed with the Belgian side for another year and ended up joining Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt on a free transfer in 2022.

Buta had averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.74 across 25 Pro League matches and produced zero goals and four assists for Antwerp during the 2020/21 campaign, before a record of zero goals and three assists in 17 Belgian top-flight games the following season. A move, then, was well dodged.

 

Juranovic, on the other hand, came into the 2021 window off the back of one goal and eight assists in 26 league matches for Legia Warsaw, which came after he began his career with Hajduk Split and racked up 165 competitive first-team appearances in his home country.

His creative quality from right-back seemingly caught Postecoglou’s eye and the Australian green-lit a £2.5m swoop for the defender to bolster his options at the back instead of a deal for Buta, who had not shown as much quality at the top end of the pitch.

How did Juranovic perform for Celtic?

It turned out to be an inspired piece of business by the former Bhoys boss as Juranovic went on to enjoy a phenomenal 18 months at Parkhead.

He delivered consistently brilliant performances week-in-week-out in the Scottish Premiership and proved himself to be an outstanding option for the head coach.

The Croatia international averaged a sublime Sofascore rating of 7.21 across 26 league outings during the 2021/22 campaign as he was deployed as a right-back and at left-back, which also highlighted his useful versatility to be able to play on either flank as a defender.

His attacking prowess was not on full display as he only chipped in with three goals and one assist. However, the talented full-back did create four ‘big chances’ and provided 1.3 key passes per game for his teammates – the joint-most of any full-back within the squad.

This shows that he was able to consistently split open the opposition’s defence with his passing and crossing ability. However, they let him down with their finishing as he finished the season with just one assist.

Juranovic wasn’t just a threat going forward, as he performed admirably at the back too, showcasing his defensive ability with 2.2 tackles and interceptions combined per match and a duel success rate of 56%, as per Sofascore.

The 28-year-old followed that up with a terrific start to the 2022/23 campaign as he averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.22 across ten Premiership outings, which was the fourth-best score within the team. This shows that he was one of the top performers at the club and vital to the team on the pitch.

He created 1.4 chances per match for his teammates – the fourth-highest within the squad – and made 2.5 tackles and interceptions per clash to go along with a duel success rate of 59%.

How much did Celtic sell Juranovic for?

His impressive displays for the Hoops eventually led to a transfer to Bundesliga side Union Berlin in January of this year for a reported fee of up to £10m.

This meant that Celtic made a £7.5m profit on the Croatia international as his market value rocketed up by 300% from the initial £2.5m they paid Legia Warsaw in 2021, just 18 months prior to his move to Germany.

Juranovic’s performances at the World Cup for his country at the end of 2022 may have also played a part in the move as he impressed in Qatar, with former France centre-back William Gallas hailing him as “unbelievable”.

The 28-year-old full-back won an eye-catching 76% of his duels on the ground during the tournament, proving that he dominated the opposition on the deck when it came to his defensive work.

His displays indicated that he was able to produce on the biggest stage against the best teams in a high-pressure environment, something that likely persuaded Union Berlin to swoop for him.

Where is Buta now?

Buta, on the other hand, is still with Frankfurt after his debut season in Germany last term. He averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.92 across 18 outings as the Portuguese defender provided one key pass per game for his teammates and lost 55% of his duels.

These statistics suggest that Celtic dodged a bullet by missing out on the former Antwerp star as his performances were considerably worse than Juranovic’s were for the Hoops.

This is also reflected in his market value as FootballTransfers currently rates Buta’s Expected Transfer Value (xTV) at €5.9m (£5m), whereas they place the Union Berlin star’s xTV at €10.1m (£9.5m).

Postecoglou clearly struck gold by securing a deal for Juranovic as the Scottish giants got 18 months of fantastic service out of the defender before they were able to cash in on him for a big profit.

Meanwhile, their other target has not developed as much as the Croatian talent and, based on the evidence of his form at Frankfurt, would not have been as much of a success at Parkhead.