Barcelona are reportedly going head-to-head with Chelsea for the signature of Celtic and Croatia right-back Josip Juranovic.
The 27-year-old has been an ever present for the Checkered Ones during their run to the World Cup semi-finals, playing every minute for Zlatko Dalic's men at the tournament.
Juranovic came up with one assist in his side's 4-1 Group F win over Canada, and he also earned high praise for his performance against Brazil in the quarter-finals.
Croatia suffered a 3-0 defeat to Argentina in Tuesday's semi-final, but Juranovic will be expected to keep his place in the side for Saturday's third-placed playoff with Morocco.
Domestically, the right-back has produced one goal and one assist in 15 appearances for Celtic during the 2022-23 season, although he has only started eight of their Scottish Premiership matches.
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Juranovic played every minute of the Bhoys' Champions League group-stage campaign, though, and he is tied down to Ange Postecoglou's side until the summer of 2026.
The 27-year-old's exploits in Qatar have supposedly led to interest from Chelsea, but according to Tuttomercatoweb, Barcelona have also been alerted to Juranovic's performances.
Blaugrana manager Xavi is expected to prioritize the signing of a new right-back during the January transfer window, but Atletico Madrid are also keeping tabs on Juranovic's future.
The Croatia international departed Legia Warsaw in the summer of 2021 to sign for Celtic, and he won the Scottish Premiership title and Scottish League Cup during his debut campaign.
Juranovic boasts a total of six goals and three assists from 50 games in a Celtic shirt over the past one-and-a-half seasons, but Postecoglou's side are under no pressure to sell given his contract situation.
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Xavi did welcome one new right-back to Barcelona in the summer in the form of Hector Bellerin, who arrived on a free transfer after ending his 11-year spell at Arsenal.
The Spaniard only signed a one-year contract at Camp Nou, though, and it is difficult to imagine him earning an extension as he struggles for starts in Catalonia.
Bellerin could therefore begin discussions with foreign clubs over a pre-contract agreement in January before leaving on a free transfer in the summer, and Barcelona are understood to possess a list of defensive targets for the New Year.
Manchester United's Diogo Dalot and Borussia Dortmund's Thomas Meunier are being linked with switches to Barcelona, who are also said to be after Inter Milan's Denzel Dumfries.
Juranovic's Croatia teammate Josko Gvardiol is rumoured to be on Xavi's radar too, but the Blaugrana may not be able to financially compete with Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea in the race for the 20-year-old RB Leipzig centre-back.
Ben Knapton
