Chelsea and Barcelona fall behind as new club makes ‘concrete offer’ to sign Josip Juranovic: Reports

According to Tuttomercato, Espanyol have submitted an official bid for Celtic's Josip Juranovic, who has been attracting interest from Chelsea and Barcelona. The Croatian full-back is tied to a contract with the Scottish side until 2026.

Apart from Espanyol, Serie A side Monza are also interested in signing the player in January. The right-back has made 16 appearances for Celtic this season, scoring one goal and registering one assist.

Espanyol are currently languishing in 17th place in La Liga and are in desperate need of reinforcements. They have made Juranovic a major transfer target.

🇭🇷 | Josip Juranovic

Serie A side Monza are ready to make their move for Josip Juranovic.

The Italians will offer Celtic to initially take the Croatian on loan with an obligation to buy him in the summer for £6.2M.

[@TuttoMercatoWeb] https://t.co/0kb2UKRNS5

Monza, meanwhile, are 15th in Serie A at the moment. They are also keen to add new players to their squad and have identified Juranovic as their main January target.

Chelsea and Barcelona are also interested in the Croatian. However, considering the fact that Espanyol have already made a "concrete offer," the European giants will need to speed up their pursuit of Juranovic.

Former Barcelona star reacted to new Chelsea signing

The Blues recently completed the signing of Benoit Badiashile from AS Monaco on a seven-and-a-half-year deal.

Former Barcelona star Cesc Fabregas, who also represented the Blues, reacted to the transfer. Fabregas was teammates with Badiashile during his time at AS Monaco.

He wrote on Twitter:

“What a signing. Good luck my friend.”

@BadiashileB What a signing 💙
Bonne chance mon ami 🙏🏻💪🏻

Badiashile also expressed his happiness after the move was completed. The defender told the Blues' official website (via Mirror):

“I’m very happy to be here at Chelsea, I’m so excited to start playing for this club. I can’t wait to see the fans and start playing in the best league in the world.”

Todd Boehly, Chelsea's new owner, reacted to his team's new acquisition, saying:

“We’re delighted to welcome Benoit to Chelsea, He’s an excellent young player who has quickly established a strong reputation for himself and has a huge amount of experience for his young age. We are sure he will form an important part of our team in the years ahead.”