Transfer story
Manchester United were outplayed by their archrivals Manchester City in the derby yesterday and the defeat could spark a few signing come January. December is a period where we tend to hear a lot of conjecture and when it’s United, expect a few big names to be linked.
According to reports from The Sun, Manchester United have made Ivan Perisic their primary target in the January transfer window. The Croatian winger was extensively linked to the Old Trafford side in the summer, but Inter Milan’s insistence on keeping hold of their star man meant that this deal went nowhere.
Perisic signed a new contract with Inter in the summer, which apparently made him one of the highest paid players in the team. However, once Mourinho wants a player, he gets the player!
Why Perisic?
Jose Mourinho’s transfer wishlist in the summer was quite clear. He wanted a defensive midfielder to free up Pogba (only, only, if you got a penny for listening to that every time!), a young striker and a wide man in attack. The board was able to satisfy all his demands but the pursuit of Ivan Perisic yielded no results until the end.
It is not difficult to imagine why Jose is so adamant on getting hold of this Croatian talent. Perisic has a knack for scoring and creating goals, something that is evident by his returns of six goals and seven assists in 16 league games this season.
He has a tall stature and likes to take on defenders. An inverted winger, Perisic likes to cut in from the flanks, something well-known these days, and does give the ball some welly when he has the chance. He does not shy away from his defensive duties and had made 1 tackle and averages about 1.4 interceptions per game.
Manchester United have Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford in the squad yet their lack of experience lets the team down sometimes. Perisic, at 28, is in the peak years of his career. Jose can extract the best out of him at Old Trafford. Moreover, he will have the opportunity to play in the Champions League regularly.
Deal or no deal?
According to The Sun, Inter are quoting a fee around the range of 45 million pounds for their star forward. Going by the standards set by this inflated market, that is not a huge fee at all.
For a player who is just a year into his new contract, United have quite an easy chance to get hold of their primary target. Perisic has the talent and ability to light up the Theatre of Dreams with his displays. The prospect of featuring in the Champions League frequently and continuously challenging for the league title must be attractive enough to lure him to United. United will have a real talent if they are able to finalise this deal soon.
