Tottenham Hotspur are in talks to bring Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic to the Premier League with Sport1 claiming that the Serie A champion could be reunited with Antonio Conte in North London.
When the veteran Croatian was farmed out on loan to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2019, you’d be forgiven for assuming he and Conte were just never going to click, destined to split apart like water and oil.
There did not appear to be an obvious place in the manager’s 3-4-2-1 formation for an old-school, chalk-booted winger who has made a career out of racing down the touchline and whipping inch-perfect crosses into the box with his trusty left boot.
Perisic was not a wing-back. Nor was he a number ten.
But what the former Dortmund star lacks in positional versatility, he more than makes up for in determination. Determination to prove, to Conte and every one else at the San Siro, that he still had a part to play.
And, producing four goals and five assists as Inter secured their first Serie A title in over a decade, play it he most certainly did.
Will Conte sign Ivan Perisic for Spurs?
“When I came to Inter Milan in the summer of 2019, my initial idea was that Perisic was an offensive defender because I know he has the characteristics of doing this,” Conte admitted back in May.
“The coach can have all kinds of ideas, but he needs the players’ willingness to cooperate with his hard work. (Perisic) was loaned to Bayern and came back with a different mentality.
“Perisic is an excellent player with outstanding physical strength. He is good at beating (his man). He has the ability to play one-on-one. I need Perisic like this. He will keep because he has quality.”
With Sport1 reporting that Spurs have now entered talks to bring the long-time Manchester United target to England at last, a reunion with Conte could be on the cards.
And few would have seen that coming when Perisic was being unveiled by Bayern in August 2019.
According to claims from Italy, Perisic has told Inter that he has no interest in extending a £125,000-a-week contract that is due to expire next summer.
Rafael Benitez’s Everton have been linked.
Although Simone Inzaghi, Conte’s successor, insisted that he was hoping to keep hold of the ‘extraordinary’ Perisic after his sublime performance in the Champions League victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.
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