As reported by the Daily Mail, Manchester United have identified Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic as an alternative for primary transfer target Jadon Sancho.
It has been a slow transfer window for Manchester United as they have just completed the one signing of Donny van de Beek.
They have been left flustered in their continued pursuit of Jadon Sancho and now they are looking at alternatives as the transfer window has less than a month to go and Perisic has popped up as an option. (h/t Daily Mail)
Ivan Perisic is a 31-year-old Croatian winger who plays for Inter Milan. He started his youth career at Hajduk Split back in 1995 before moving on to FC Sochaux’s academy in 2006. Even before he could play a game for Sochaux, he was loaned out to KSV Roeselare.
Returning from loan, he was then sold off to Club Brugge in 2009. He had a productive spell at the Belgian club, making 89 appearances, scoring 35 goals and providing 23 assists (Transfermarkt).
He spent the next two years at Borussia Dortmund but didn’t find the same level of success. A four-year stint at Wolfsburg between 2012 and 2016 followed with similar levels of performance.
Inter Milan was his next destination and he seemed to have regained his form there. In 163 appearances, he scored 40 goals and assisted another 35. He spent the last season on loan at Bayern Munich brought him on loan, and played a crucial part in their treble-winning season.
Perisic is an experienced campaigner for Croatia as well with 90 caps and 26 goals.
With time running out and no progress in terms of the Jadon Sancho deal, Manchester United need to look at alternative forward players. Last season, United felt the effects of having a squad lacking depth in key areas. Their first XI was overused to the point of exhaustion and it was seen in their last few games.
With Daniel James’ form tailing off and Tahith Chong loaned out, United do not have enough quality in the wide areas.
And while Perisic may not exactly fit into the profile of players Manchester United have targeted in recent windows, he is one with loads of experience at the highest level. At 31, he has won it all and can provide that bit of level-headedness that Manchester United seem to lack in their young team.
He is extremely versatile and can play in a multitude of positions such as left wing, right wing, and attacking midfield. This would solve United’s right-wing woes that has been plaguing the team for a number of years now.
Ivan Perisic is an extremely good utility player who comes with bags of experience in top level football. Manchester United need someone exactly like Perisic even if it’s on a short-term basis. He can provide cover in multiple positions, but most importantly address the right-wing problem.
