West Ham United’s hopes of landing Ivan Perisic appear to be dwindling.
Croatia’s Ivan Perisic celebrates scoring
In January, West Ham United lost playmaker Dimitri Payet to Marseille, and whilst Robert Snodgrass was brought in from Hull, he wasn’t believed to be Slaven Bilic’s top target.
When Payet was in the process of completing his acrimonious exit from the London Stadium, L’Equipe reported that Bilic wanted to re-invest the fee in signing Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic.
Perisic would have been a marquee addition for West Ham, having made his name with the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Wolfsburg and Inter Milan, whilst he also has a history with Bilic.
West Ham boss Bilic handed Perisic his international debut with Croatia, so it’s no great surprise that he would want a reunion with the winger, who has notched nine goals and three assists in Serie A this season.
Whilst Perisic would be a big-name player West Ham to eventually replace Payet, their chances of signing him appear to be dwindling by the week since their January interest was reported.
The Sun claimed just last week that Manchester United are now keen on landing Perisic, with manager Jose Mourinho keen to push through a £35million deal this summer.
Croatia’s Ivan Perisic celebrates
If United really are pursuing a deal for Perisic, then West Ham will find it very difficult to compete, even if they can offer guaranteed first-team football, a move to London and a reunion with former boss Bilic.
At £35million, West Ham may just be priced out of any move for the winger, with his price tag seemingly going up and up since January despite being 28.
Now – should he keep his job – Bilic may just have to watch on as Perisic faces off against West Ham next season, when he’d rather see the wide man in claret and blue, with the Hammers seemingly having missed their chance to make a concrete move for Perisic.
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