Ivan Perisic Available For £54 Million Next Summer
Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Manchester United are enjoying a comfortable start to their season, having more or less dominated on all fronts. All three competitions that they’ve participated in so far have yielded exceptional results, the most noticeable one being their second position atop the Premier League table, tied on points with rivals Manchester City, with a sole goal the only thing keeping them apart.
In the UEFA Champions League too, they have delivered impressive performances, and despite having to face the loss of their star player Paul Pogba, are doing quite well. All in all, the Red Devils have retained their fearful attacking swagger, and as of such, shouldn’t be thinking about adding players to their forward ranks just yet. However, a recent development regarding one of their long-term targets might just change that.
For almost the entirety of the previous summer window, United were in open pursuit of Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic, with Jose Mourinho eager to use the 28-year-old to bolster his wing play. Unfortunately for the English giants, Milan held out for a huge amount, and United were unable to make the signing.
But now, as per Gazzetta Dello Sport, the winger’s newly signed contract includes a release clause which can be activated from next season, and will amount to £54 million. This leaves Mourinho with an interesting opportunity to swoop in for the wide-man, if he is able to thwart off other European clubs who might be eager to secure the highly rated player as well.
REUTERS/Massimo Pinca
Furthermore, the same source believes the time extension of the clause has been specifically placed, so that the Mancunian outfit won’t be able to pry the Croatian away in the January window itself.
Realistically though, United aren’t struggling a bit in the department in question. On the contrary, there seems to be a surplus of talent, what with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial constantly locked in a battle for the starting spot every week.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan too, has proven to be highly impressive so far, which would make the addition of Perisic an unnecessary selection dilemma. Lastly, the sheer age difference between the current lot of youngsters and the Inter star, who if signed next summer, will be 29, ought to be a sensible enough reason to not go ahead with the signing.
Written by Naveen Kelvin 
A writer trying to craft the poetry within football. Purpose in life is to Make Good Art.