Tottenham Hotspur winger Ivan Perisic has been linked with a move away from the club at the end of the season.
Italian manager Antonio Conte is expected to leave the Premier League club at the end of the season when his contract expires and Italian journalist Marco Barzaghi has now claimed (h/t SportWitness) that the Croatian international could follow the manager out of the club.
The journalist has revealed on his YouTube channel that Perisic would like to return to Inter Milan because he is aware that the 53-year-old Italian manager is unlikely to renew his contract with the Londoners and he might have confided in his former teammates regarding a return.
“He [Perišić] too would like to return, above all because he understood that Conte is leaving at the end of the season, and things could get even more complicated for him: He, like Hakimi himself, as they confide to his former teammates, would like to return. I don’t think Perišić expected such a modest adventure in the Premier League.”
The 34-year-old has been a useful player for Tottenham this season. Perisic has played as the left-sided winger as well as a wing-back for Antonio Conte and he has 9 assists across all competitions.
The experienced Croatian has a contract with Tottenham until the summer of 2024 and it remains to be seen whether Tottenham are prepared to let him leave at the end of the season.
Perisic is in his twilight years and the only reason Tottenham signed him is because of Antonio Conte’s desire to bring the versatile attacker to the club. If Conte ends up leaving in the summer, Spurs could sanction his departure as well.
Conte has been linked with the return to Italy in the summer and Inter Milan have been mentioned as a potential destination. If he returns to San Siro, he could look to take Perisic back to the club with him.
Meanwhile, Tottenham will be hoping that they can keep Conte at the club for the foreseeable future. They have the option to trigger a one-year extension in the Italian manager’s contract but a lot would depend on whether Conte wants to continue at the Premier League club.
Losing a manager of his quality would be a devastating blow for any club and his exit could affect the futures of a number of players.
The likes of Harry Kane have been linked with a move away from the club and the England international could feel that his best chance of winning a trophy at Spurs has significantly gone down if the Italian manager ends up leaving.
They can have him. He hasn’t pulled up any trees at Spurs.