Tottenham have snapped up Ivan Perisic with Antonio Conte managing to sign a player that Jose Mourinho was long desperate to land.
Tottenham have qualified for the Champions League having secured a fourth-place finish on the final day of the season.
Antonio Conte will be keen on adding major quality to the Tottenham squad this summer and already has one signing done.
After days of speculation, Ivan Perisic joined the club on Tuesday afternoon, penning a two-year contract.
Tottenham have snapped up Ivan Perisic
Perisic now reunites with Antonio Conte having previously worked together at Inter Milan, winning a league title together in 2021.
The Croatian is now 33 so won’t be seen as the dangerous winger he was in his early days.
Instead, Perisic will likely play as a wing back at Tottenham, probably down the left side.
Perisic can still play in the attack if needed but he isn’t going to be picked ahead of Son Heung-min or Dejan Kulusevski any time soon.
A free transfer looks like a solid deal for Tottenham, especially given Perisic’s experience and history of winning.
One person who loves Perisic is Jose Mourinho, the man Tottenham decided to sack last year.
Mourinho spent many transfer windows attempting to sign Perisic for Manchester United and there were links with Tottenham too.
So what exactly has Mourinho said about Perisic in the past?
Mourinho raved about Perisic back in 2018 for his goal against England at the World Cup in Russia.
Perisic tracked the ball brilliantly and sneaked in ahead of Kyle Walker to draw Croatia level at 1-1 before winning in extra time.
Mourinho called Perisic ‘very physical’ and ‘dominant’ over defenders, believing the way he attacks the ball is ‘amazing’.
“Perisic is the kind of winger that is different from the others. Normally you look at wingers and they are just fast and creative. But he is also physical, very physical,” said Mourinho.
“Fantastic in the air. So the way he wins that ball in the air and puts the ball into that space is only possible if you are very, very physical and dominant over defenders. So he was amazing by going there and winning that ball in the air,” he added.
Tottenham fans will hope that Perisic still has these qualities four years on.
Conte loves his wing backs to attack and Perisic can certainly do that. There is a real chance for Son Heung-min to drift infield and allow Perisic to attack the back post, attempting to dominate full backs.
That’s an exciting prospect for Tottenham, though Mourinho will wish that he had Perisic during his time at Tottenham.
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