Manchester United could make a surprise swoop for long-term Liverpool target, Inter Milan midfielder Ivan Perisic as Jose Mourinho plans to raid his former club.
Perisic has been one of Inter’s star performers this season and scored a winning double in Saturday’s 2-1 Serie A result at Udinese.
Liverpool, Everton and Tottenham are all said to have Perisic on their radar, while Paris Saint-Germain have earmarked the Croatia international as a viable target.
Liverpool were first linked with a move for Perisic back in the summer with Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb claiming a 23million bid could be in pipeline.
Klopp and Perisic worked together at Borussia Dortmund between 2011 and 2013 but they fell out towards the end of 2012 and their relationship may need repairing before any move to Anfield.
Perisic was eventually sold to Wolfsburg in January 2013 before he joined Inter at the start of 2015/16 season.
And now Italian outlet Calciomercato claim it is Mourinho at Manchester United who stands the greatest chance of landing Perisic.
According to the report, Mourinho could use his influence at his former club to help secure the deal.
Inter manager Stefano Pioli is supposedly seeking his own new recruits and has the fanatical backing of Inter’s new Chinese owners.
Perisic’s performances have improved since Pioli took charge at the San Siro following Franck de Boer’s sacking.
With determination, pace and tenacity being well-known attributes of Perisic’s, these are important tools for a good presser. Though one attribute underappreciated for making Perisic a good presser is his intelligence without the ball.
When defending in his own half, the work ethic and strong running of Perisic is made use of. Perisic is assigned to the opposite full-back and will track him as far as he goes.
Undoubtedly final third is the area where his best work sparks into life, Perisic is an almost perfect example of a direct winger.
As could be expected a winger with the attributes Perisic possesses, he is very strong in 1 to 1 situations. To make full use of this ability which often allows Inter to have qualitative superiority on a wing, his teammates often follow movement and passing patterns which help isolate Perisic to create a 1 to 1 situation with the opposition full-back.
Mourinho is said to be a fan of Perisic’s ‘tactically flexibility’ and could have room in his midfield should the boss sell Memphis Depay, Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger this winter.
Mourinho won the Champions League with Inter in 2010 before moving to Real Madrid that summer.