Ivan Perisic’s impending move to Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur is a ‘disaster’ for Inter Milan, former Serie A star Antonio Cassano says on Christian Vieri’s Twitch channel.
As recently as 2019, Antonio Conte had serious doubts about whether the Croatia international could thrive in his feted 3-5-2 formation.
So much so that the Inter boss allowed Perisic to join Bayern Munich on loan, a move that seemed to appeared the end of his time at the 2010 treble-winners.
The fact that Tottenham are on the verge of completing a rapid-fire swoop for the veteran free-agent, just three years later, is proof of just how wrong Conte was.
Perisic has not only taken to a wing-back role like a duck to water at the San Siro. He was arguably the best player in the whole of Serie A throughout 2021/22, contributing ten goals, nine assists and countless game-changing contributions.
Is Ivan Perisic a brilliant Tottenham Hotspur signing?
According to The Telegraph, Perisic will sign a £180,000-a-week deal in North London.
The evergreen 33-year-old leaves Inter on a free transfer, after the cash-strapped Nerazzuri failed to reach an agreement over a contract extension.
“(CEO Beppe) Marotta has made a disaster by sending Perisic, the strongest player, home,” says Cassano, who spent the 2012/13 season at Inter Milan.
“From what I understand, the last contract offer for Perisic was two years at 5.5 million euros. He wanted three years.
“Inter have made a great effort but you can never lose (a player like Perisic).
“With all due respect to (Robin) Gosens, if he has a headache, then you don’t have an alternative. Ok, (Federico) Dimarco is here, you can put (Matteo) Darmian in, but they are different players.”
Legendary Inter captain Graziano Bini described Perisic as a ‘big loss’ on Monday, while Marotta indicated that the club’s precarious financial situation hindered their ability to meet the winger’s demands.
Perisic’s arrival should pave the way for Sergio Reguilon to leave Tottenham Hotspur in the summer. The inconsistent Spaniard has fallen out of favour under Conte and could return to Real Madrid.
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