Ivan Perisic returning to Croatian football would be ‘a miraculous story’ with his contract at Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur expiring next summer, according to former Hajduk Split captain Mario Maloca.
Last week, as speculation over Ivan Perisic’s potential Hajduk Split homecoming reared it’s head again, Croatian newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija suggested that there would be parties on the streets of Zagreb if that dream return from Tottenham Hotspur did become a reality.
And Mario Maloca would be at the front of the conga line; the one-time Hajduk Split skipper enthused about the prospect of one of Croatia’s favoruite sons coming back to the club where he started his career and dragging The Whites to their first domestic title since 2005.
Ivan Perisic could leave Tottenham in 2024
“I got goosebumps while you’re talking about it now,” Maloca beams, speaking to Vercenji. “Ivan Perisic is on top of the world.
“After (Luka) Modric and (Mateo) Kovacic, he has the longest career in our national team. His arrival in Hajduk would be a miraculous story. Only he can remove (talismanic striker Marko) Livaja from the throne in Hajduk.”
Perisic might have joined last season’s Croatian runners-up this summer, only for Ange Postecoglou to decide that the former Inter Milan, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund winger still had a part to play in North London.
The veteran wideman sparked Saturday’s dramatic comeback win over Sheffield United by setting up Richarlison’s 98th minute equaliser.
‘We will try everything’
“As you well know, Ivan Perisic has one more year left on his contract with Tottenham. Of course, we are monitoring the situation, and I can honestly say that we will try everything in our power, but of course we need to see a lot of (things go our way) first,” Mindaugas Nikolicius, Hajduk’s sporting director, told Dnevnik NoveTV a few weeks back.
“I wouldn’t want to reveal (the nature of the talks), in terms of who is talking to whom and in which direction it is going. Of course, any transfer can happen at any time.”
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