Inter Milan attacker Ivan Perisic has confirmed that he was on the brink of joining Manchester United during the summer of 2017 before manager Luciano Spalletti convinced him to stay put with the Nerazzurri.
The Croatia international was earmarked as the prime transfer target for United boss Jose Mourinho after the club’s Europa League success during the 2016/17 season but the club could not find a breakthrough in terms of the player’s valuation with the Nerazzurri.
Perisic thereafter followed to pen a new long-term deal with the San Siro giants until June 2022 and he has since continued to command an influential role for the Nerazzurri, who are back in the Champions League this season after a six-year wait.
Speaking to FourFourTwo, Perisic acknowledged that there was indeed interest from United and Mourinho last year and he would have probably joined them barring the effort made from Spalletti, who tempted him to stay put with the Milan outfit.
Nonetheless, the Croatian has indicated that he still harbours the ambition of plying his trade in England and refused to rule out a potential move away from the Nerazzurri, should another potential offer arise in the forthcoming years.
Perisic has transformed himself into a consistent performer since making the switch to the Serie A and his reputation was further built during the summer World Cup where he was among the standout performers in Croatia’s run to the final before their defeat at the hands of France.
Owing to this, his valuation would surely have risen from the package previously quoted for Mourinho’s team but it remains to be seen whether the Nerazzurri would sanction his sale in the near future with him approaching his 30th birthday shortly after the turn of the year.
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