Ivan Perisic has been crucial for Croatia in their bid to lift the World Cup for the first time in what is their 5th appearances in a FIFA tournament.
Manchester United was keen to improve on a Europa League crown in the first season under Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese had brought Romelu Lukaku, Victor Lindelof and Nemanja Matic in the following summer. He was also keen to add another attacker and Ivan Perisic was the chosen one. But Inter Milan resisted a few bids from the Red Devils and offered the Croat a new deal.
Mourinho’s comments on Perisic’s snub
Jose Mourinho revealed that he add Perisic to his Manchester United squad last season. The Red Devils coach had no reason has to why Perisic has not joined him at United: “He went from Croatia to Borussia Dortmund, then to Wolfsburg, then to Inter. I do not know why he did not come to Manchester United, I wanted him.” Jose knew that he needed a winger to mount a genuine challenge. He was proved right after United finished a distant second behind their local rivals, Manchester City.
Perisic joined Inter from German club Wolfsburg in 2015. Since then he has scored 29 goals in just over 100 appearances. Perisic was rightly named Man of the Match in Croatia’s semifinal win against England. He struck the equalizer, rattled the post a few minutes later, and then played supplier for Mario Mandzukic’s winner.
Mourinho on Perisic: “I don’t know why he didn’t come to Manchester when I wanted him.” #mufc [RT] pic.twitter.com/NpkZXe8Ywj
— United Xtra (@utdxtra) July 15, 2018
Mourinho last summer on Perisic
“The club did a fantastic job, absolutely fantastic, by getting three of them, which is difficult in the crazy market where we are now,” he said at the end of United’s pre-season. “To get three out of four, I thank the club for that. I would be happier if they gave me four of four but they did a great effort for me.”
He late added that he wasn’t looking for a pure winger.“The player I was looking for was not a pure winger because I have pure wingers,” he said. “Probably the player that I was looking for is a player that allows me to play with three at the back and play the wing-back.”
Author’s take-
Ivan Perisic would have brought something different to the Manchester United side. He is incredibly two-footed and has a decent cross on him. Inter Milan were stubborn enough to hold on to him and tie him down to a new deal. And United were unwilling to part with the extra £5-10m demanded by Nerazzurri. Who knows what could have happened if the 29-year-old move to Manchester.
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