It’s being reported that Manchester United could be back in for Inter Milan attacker Ivan Perisic after the Croatian helped down England in their recent World Cup semi-final.

Man United boss Jose Mourinho really wanted to bring the winger to Old Trafford last summer but couldn’t do a deal with his former Italian employers.

The Red Devils boss has since come out and explained why he was interested in Ivan:

‘Perisic is the kind of winger that is different to the others,’ 

‘Normally you look at wingers and they are just fast and creative.’

‘But he is also physical, very physical. Fantastic in the air.’

His performances for Croatia will have done nothing to dampen Mourinho’s admiration of the player. He’s bagged two goals and one assist so far for his nation in Russia.

Perisic works extremely hard for his team, a quality that he shares with most of his compatriots.

In the game against England, Ivan Perisic was extremely influential in getting Croatia through. He majestically equalised with a fine opportunistic finish and then his considerable leap meant he could flick on an assist for Mario Mandzukic’s winner.

He’s an intelligent player, who times his runs perfectly and that creates a host of problems for the opposition. His strength also make it difficult for full-backs to shrug him off of the ball.

Another major quality that makes him an ideal signing for Man United is his delivery into the box. He has a wicked cross on him and it usually comes in with pinpoint accuracy. You can imagine that Romelu Lukaku would be delighted if he had Ivan on the wings feeding him chance after chance.

Perisic is also a versatile forward who can play on either wing or as a number ten. He seems to be best on the left and United have had issues on that side with Alexis Sanchez not settling out there since his arrival in January. Having the twenty-nine year old on the left wing would allow the Chilean attacker to go in the middle playing behind Lukaku.

In Serie A last term, the Croat international ended the campaign with twelve goals and nine assists for teammates. Those stats helped him win five man of the match awards and more importantly it saw Inter finish in the Champions League positions.

With Anthony Martial stating (through his agent) that he wants to leave Old Trafford this summer, it would make sense for Mourinho to bring in another attacking wideman and it would also seem logical that he’d go back in for a player he clearly admires.

Many a United fan were left unconvinced by the pursuit of Perisic last summer, they didn’t see the need for another winger. Yet after this World Cup and with some of the problems they had in the wide areas last term, they’d probably be delighted to have an impactful star come in and offer something different on the lefthand side.

Will Manchester United go all in and offer £50m plus in this window? Will Inter want to sell one of their creative talents as they head into the Champions League? Will the player want to make a move to the Premier League? 

These are all questions that will need to be answered in the coming weeks!

Posted on July 13th, 2018 by scott
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