Manchester United have been joined by Chelsea in the race to sign Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic in the summer.
According to Sky Sports’ sources in Italy, Chelsea are interested in signing Inter Milan’s left-wing sensation Ivan Perisic in the summer. In another report, they stated that the Blues’ Premier League rivals had already opened talks with the player over a potential summer move.
United manager Jose Mourinho, who is understood to be a huge fan of the player has already tabled an initial bid of £36 million, with both the player and the Italian club interested in the move.
However, according to reputed Italian journalist Gianluca di Marzio, Inter value the player between £48m and £52m, and United’s bid fell quite short of what the Milan outfit are holding out for the Croatian.
The 28-year-old has a plethora of options to choose from for his next destination, and with good reason. In the recently concluded season, Perisic bagged a total of ten goals and provided another six assists to help Inter sit in a respectable seventh place with one match still to go.
When the media quizzed Jose Mourinho about his intentions in the transfer market, the United boss stated that he has handed out his list of requirements to club CEO Ed Woodward, and Perisic’s name is understood to be present on that list.
The Crotian has enjoyed a good two full seasons at the San Siro after moving from Wolfsburg in 2015, and still has three years to play out in his contract that runs out in the summer of 2020.
Hence, Inter are commanding a relatively high price for the 28-year-old. Both United and Chelsea are looking to add to their options next season as they will be competing in the Champions League along with three other English clubs.
Perisic is predominantly a left winger, having played a majority of his games in that position this season, but has the ability of playing in all the three attacking positions behind the striker.
At Chelsea, the 28-year-old is unlikely to usurp Eden Hazard to start on the left flank, but could be given the nod to start ahead of Willian or Pedro as a right inside forward. He has an eye for goal, and could be a decent fit in Antonio Conte’s system at Stamford Bridge.
For Mourinho at Old Trafford, he has an array of wingers to pick from, and thus his interest in a 28-year-old left winger comes as a huge surprise. Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are all good enough to be regular starters and Perisic’s arrival may see either Martial or Lingard pack their bags in the summer.
