Inter Milan in contract negotiations with Ivan Perisic

Serie A giants Inter Milan have reportedly begun talks over a fresh contract with Ivan Perisic as they seek to fend off interest from Manchester United in the future. The Croatian attacker was identified as the prime target for the Red Devils this summer, but they could not get a deal over the line.

The Nerazzurri had remained firm on their £50m valuation for Perisic, and this proved too much for Jose Mourinho’s side who spent in excess of £140m on the likes of Victor Lindelof, Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku.

United chief Ed Woodward had wanted to negotiate a sum of around £40m for the former Wolfsburg star, but the San Siro outfit were not desperate to sell with the Croatian contracted until the summer of 2020.

According to Tuttosport, the Nerazzurri are hoping to end any further interest from the Mancunian giants by offering a fresh deal to the 28-year-old. It is added that they will insert a £64m release clause in the contract in order to ward off his suitors from lodging a future approach.

The Italian publication apparently dub it as an ‘Anti-United’ clause as the Red Devils would not be willing to spend such a price on a player, who will be turning 29 in February.

Perisic has notched 21 goals during his two-year stay with the famous old club, and he appears set to contribute towards their progress to the top of the table.

Both Inter Milan and AC Milan have made their moves in this summer’s transfer window, and the expectations are high for the cross-city rivals after having struggled to attain any form of success in recent years.

Luciano Spalletti has earned a reputation of guiding AS Roma into the Champions League qualification spots, and this would surely be the minimal expectation at the end of the campaign.

Image – Getty