Chelsea are reportedly considering a move for Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic and are set to battle Manchester United for the Croatian
According to Daily Mirror, Chelsea could be the latest entrant in the pursuit of Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic. The player has been tailed by Manchester United for long, with even Barcelona touted as a potential destination. But, it looks like Chelsea have emerged as another suitor for the Croatian.
Ivan Perisic is a Croatian winger who came into the limelight after moving to Dortmund. A move to Wolfsburg soon followed before the player finally making his way to Inter Milan in the summer of 2015. Two seasons into his Inter career, the player has truly come into his own at San Siro.
The 28-year-old recorded a return of 11 goals and 11 assists in 36 league appearances in the 2016-17 campaign, leading to widespread interest in his services. And Manchester United were thought to be leading the pack, with a transfer to Old Trafford looking imminent.
Jose Mourinho spoke out publicly on his need for a wide attacking player, something Perisic would be able to fill. However, Inter’s persistence on their £50 million asking price for the 28-year-old saw United step back after their bids of lesser amount were knocked back by the Italian club.
Barcelona, too, were linked with the player recently, with replacing Neymar high on Ernesto Valverde’s list. The Catalans have been reminded of the gulf created between them and Real Madrid after Neymar’s departure, with a 3-1 defeat in the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday.
But, with no movement by Barcelona, Chelsea could swoop in for the player. Antonio Conte’s side were treated to a shock defeat at the hands of Burnley at Stamford Bridge to kick off their title defence in horrible fashion.
Chelsea do not have many options up ahead in the wide forward roles and Ivan Perisic, with his prolific nature, could be the perfect fit to Conte’s system and complement Hazard and Morata in attack.
Chelsea to move for Manchester United target Ivan Perisic? pic.twitter.com/wpKHLe48mx
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) August 14, 2017
Chelsea may be forced into action in the transfer market after their opening gameweek fiasco, with reports that they have already stepped up their pursuit of other targets – Alex Sandro, Danny Drinkwater, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ross Barkley.
It will be interesting to see if the Blues are forced to make some statement signings after their defeat or the interest in Perisic remains just that – a rumour.
