Aaron Ramsey Rangers signing 'nothing special' says Celtic defender

Celtic would not be expected to put up the bunting to welcome Aaron Ramsey to Rangers. Equally, neither would they think about raising the white flag in the title race as a consequence of their championship rivals pulling off a wholly-audacious capture of the elite-level midfelder.

Josip Juranovic says Aaron Ramsey's arrival at Rangers is 'nothing special'. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

The loan deal that has brought the much-vaunted and astronimically-remunerated 31-year-old Welsh international to Scotland from Juventus - in what was the January transfer move across the UK to really take the breath away - was treated with a degree of insouciance by the Celtic camp. As should come as no surprise to anyone. Yet, there was an arresting bluntness in Celtic full-back Josip Juranovic’s verbal shrug of the shoulders over the arrival of Ramsey across the city. That was the case even before Ange Postecoglou’s men knew they would be spared any immediate concerns over his influence on the Rangers side in the ancient adversaries’ potentially explosive and weighty derby.

Ramsey will need to settle for a watching brief on Wednesday as a result of both the player and Ibrox manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst deeming, in light of not seeing any action since mid-November, his fitness isn’t yet at the required level. Juranovic wouldn’t appear to be quaking at the prospect of Ramsey getting himself into shape for the title run-in, which will bring two more crucial derby encounters. And the Celtic defender gives short shrift to one particular notion: that the presence of a player who claimed three FA Cup wins with Arsenal, Serie A title success in Turin and proved pivotal in returning Wales to major finals following an exile of more than half a century provides Postecoglou’s men with added motivation to demonstrate they are superior to Rangers. “No. It’s just Ramsey,” said the Croatian international. “It’s nothing special. I think if you have, say, Cristiano Ronaldo in the team…It’s good for them [Rangers]. We have here, really quality players, and we need to watch ourselves.”

The Celtic manager takes a similar line. Ramsey may come with a celebrated reputation, but Postecoglou points out these don’t win football games. “I don’t really get affected by what others do. I’ve said it before – my focus is on what happens here,” said the Australian. “You can’t start worrying about what other clubs could potentially do or what players they bring in. Ultimately all these things come down to performances. No one had heard of Kyogo [Furuhashi] – but you can’t tell me he’s not had an impact. It doesn’t come down to predesign, it’s more about the impact they have. When opposition sides bring in new players it’s about looking how they perform and how they fit in and us trying to counteract that. Absolutely [there are no guarantees]. It’s not an easy league to do it. It’s been proven before. But my perspective is on us.”

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