Alasdair Gold still expects Tottenham Hotspur defender Ivan Perisic to leave this summer despite his ‘really good’ pre-season tour under Ange Postecoglou.
The 34-year-old was an Antonio Conte signing last summer and he was used to play as a left-sided wing-back for Tottenham, but he could also operate further forward.
It has been suggested that Ivan Perisic has been told he is free to leave this summer, including a possible move to Hajduk Split in Croatia.
Football London journalist Gold spoke about how it was a possible surprise that Perisic was on the club’s pre-season tour of Australia, Thailand and Singapore, in the first place, but now Ange Postecoglou has ‘some things to think about’, as he told his own YouTube channel.
If Harry Kane leaves and joins Bayern Munich this summer, then Spurs will need their senior pros to step up because it’s going to be very hard for the dressing room to cope with their star striker no longer being at the club.
Added to Perisic’s performances this summer and his experience, perhaps it’s wise to keep him on board, but Gold suggested that might still see him ‘depart’.
“Another player who I thought had a really good tour and maybe was one that some of us didn’t expect us to be on the tour was Ivan Perisic,” said Gold.
“He played very well in some of the games. His delivery is unquestionable. It’s a terrific delivery he puts into the box. The fact is, as a winger, without the defensive responsibilities, it played to his strengths as an older player and not having to get back. He was just able to concentrate on pressing. He was involved in pretty much every goal that was on the pitch.
“I still get the feeling he might depart. Maybe because of his wages and because of his desire to probably play Champions League. There was even talk about him going home to Split in Croatia. He gave Postecoglou some things to think about. He was really good. He looked really sharp the whole time.”
Where are the new defensive signings?
Whether or not someone like Perisic stays, the club still needs to bring in new faces at the back because it was one of their biggest issues last season.
When Postecoglou first walked through the doors, he spoke about the goalkeeping department and the centre-back positions being his key areas of concern.
Well, the new number one goalkeeper in Guglielmo Vicario has been signed, but where are the new defensive captures? The new Premier League campaign is only a few weeks away, Mr Daniel Levy!!
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