‘Definitely’: Chelsea almost swapped Ross Barkley for £15m defender and they still want to sign him – journalist

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Celtic and Croatia star Josip Juranovic is reportedly on the Chelsea radar once again.

Juranovic, 27, is an attack-minded right-back that has just enjoyed a fantastic World Cup campaign.

The full-back was a key player for a Croatia side that ended up finishing third place in the tournament, with Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic another to shine for one of the World Cup’s surprise packages.

Juranovic on Chelsea radar

Well-respected journalist Simon Phillips has delivered an interesting line regarding Chelsea’s interest in signing Juranovic.

Apparently, the Blues are currently considering the Croatian defender and are continuing their interest from the summer.

Scottish champions Celtic made a move to sign Ross Barkley from Chelsea in the summer, with the latter considering proposing Juranovic in some kind of swap deal. However, the Blues ended up paying off Barkley’s contract to seal his Stamford Bridge exit and the 29-year-old was snapped up by Nice on a free transfer.

“The right-back that I know Chelsea are still considering looking at is Juranovic from Croatia, the Celtic full-back. He’s definitely on Chelsea’s radar; he has been since the summer,” Phillips told GiveMeSport.

“Chelsea had an inquiry from Celtic at the time about Ross Barkley, and they were considering doing some kind of deal there with Juranovic going in the opposite direction.”

With hindsight, a Barkley-Juranovic swap deal would’ve been a dream transfer for Chelsea.

The Blues almost tried to complete a swap deal for Juranovic, who was valued at £15million (Daily Mail) in the summer.

His performances on the World Cup stage should definitely have helped enhance his reputation, so how much would Celtic want for their flying right-back now?

The fact he’s still under contract at Parkhead until 2026 does give the Scottish giants some real strength when it comes to negotiating.

There’s nothing more concrete yet regarding Chelsea’s links to Juranovic, but he could be a really shrewd addition to provide cover and competition for Reece James at Stamford Bridge. Incidentally, James is back in Blues senior training after his latest injury and is eyeing a return to action next week.

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