Journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Inter have been approached by Tottenham Hotspur for Ivan Perisic ahead of the summer transfer window.
Perisic has been linked with a move to the Premier League, with Tottenham Hotspur the main club concerned in his signature, and the deal could be a free transfer due to the Croatian’s contract expiring at the end of the season.
The Croatia international has been a mainstay in the Inter side this campaign, featuring 49 times in all competitions whilst contributing with 10 goals and nine assists.
Romano took to Twitter to update the Spurs fans that their club has made an approach for the Inter player, but no decision has been made yet.
He wrote: “Inter manager Inzaghi: ‘I want Ivan Perisic to stay here. There will be a new meeting with his agents and I hope an agreement will be reached soon’.
“Meeting will take place next week. Perisic has been approached by 3 clubs including Tottenham but no decision yet.”
We noted two potential knock-on effects of what a move to Spurs for Perisic could mean for the club.
Sergio Reguilon’s time is up?
Reguilon signed for Spurs from Real Madrid in 2020, but there is a clause that if the Spanish side want to re-sign him, then they can pay a fee of £34m to the Spurs to regain his services.
When the Spanish full-back was last fit enough to be in the squad, he was an unused substitute, as Ryan Sessegnon has been given the nod ahead of him to start at left wing-back.
With Perisic reportedly being approached by the club and Reguilon supposedly being out of favour at Spurs due to a lack of form – he was awarded just a 6.6 rating on his last time out (as per SofaScore) – this could be an indication that the Spanish full-back could be set to leave in the summer.
Has Reguilon's time run out at Spurs?Yes
No
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Conte solves the left-back issue?
Perisic has been one of the standout performers for Inter this season. In Serie A, he has the second-highest average player rating for the Nerazzurri (7.3), was the club’s third-highest scorer with eight goals and created the second-most big chances for his side (14), as per SofaScore. He also has some rather impressive defensive stats too, averaging 1.1 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 0.9 clearances per game (as per WhoScored).
Reguilon, Sessegnon and Matt Doherty have all featured at left wing-back for Spurs this season, but none of them have been able to cement a regular place in the side, with all of them featuring under 26 times in the Premier League, so by bringing in someone with stats as impressive as Perisic’s, this could solve Conte’s problem in that area of the pitch.
TIF Verdict…
With the impressive displays of Perisic this season for Inter, he could be the perfect man to take the left-wing back role ahead of next season. His experience in the Champions League could make him a great addition to the squad on and off the pitch.
Conte is familiar with the Croatian from their time at Inter together, so bringing in somebody who the Italian coach can trust may be vital as Spurs to look push on from their positive end to the 2021/22 campaign.