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What’s the story?
The Independent are reporting that Manchester United have agreed personal terms with the Internazionale winger Ivan Perisic. The paper are reporting that while United and Inter are still haggling over the asking price which is expected to be in the range of £45 million to £50 million (between €50.8 and €56.5 million), the Croatian has already spoken to and agreed personal terms with the Red Devils.
In case you didn’t know...
Ivan Perisic has been “teasing” United fans all across social media – “liking” posts such as the Romelu Lukaku announcement and a number of Paul Pogba Instagram posts (How relevant social media “likes” are to the process of a footballer’s transfer is a discussion that we must all have – but maybe another day, eh?). Jose Mourinho had been reportedly interested in the Croatian winger for quite some time now.
The heart of the matter
As is the case for a whole host of Premier League clubs, they are all allegedly agreeing personal terms with the players but are not able to close the deal with the continental clubs (Thomas Lemar to Arsenal for example) as they are completely unwilling to bend on the asking price – fully aware that the English clubs are flush with cash from the Premier League super-profitable TV deals.
It may be noted, though, that Luciano Spalletti – the new Inter manager – has said that Perisic hasn’t spoken to him yet:
“There'll be fewer chances for those players who are distracted, and better opportunities for those who want to stick with Inter,” Spalletti said. “Perisic is an important player for us, we're counting on him. Let's see what he has to say, I don't expect him to say that he wants to leave, that would be bad. We'll see what his intentions are.”
Video
For those who haven’t seen the Croatian in action:
You can see why Mourinho would be interested in him, can’t you?
Author’s Take
Ivan Perisic may not be the kind of big name signing that United fans seem to crave these days, but he’s exactly the kind of player Mourinho could use on the wings. A hard worker who never stops running, he has enough quality on the ball to be a handful moving forward and enough discipline about him to ensure he tracks back religiously and overloads the wings in a defensive sense. He could just be United’s most important signing this season.
