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Jose Mourinho has backed Internazionale for doing their upmost to keep Ivan Perisic from Manchester United ’s clutches this summer.
United had been locked in negotiations for the Croatia winger for much of the summer, with the clubs coming close to a deal only for Inter to stand firm and refuse to budge on the £48m asking price.
Perisic wants the Old Trafford move, with United still looking to add a wideman as a priority now following the arrivals of Victor Lindelof , Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic to strengthen the other three areas of the squads identified as needing improving most.
Manchester United summer transfer targetsShow all 8 1 /8Manchester United summer transfer targets Manchester United summer transfer targets Ivan Perisic, Inter Milan United want to spend £35m on Perisic but Inter are holding out for closer to £50m. That said, Mourinho is a big fan and may be willing to go the extra mile to get him. Likelihood: 7/10
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Manchester United summer transfer targets Renato Sanches - Bayern Munich Sanches was being chased by United before deciding on Bayern Munich last summer but is back on their radar again 12 months later. He is available for £43m and Ancelotti has admitted United are "a possibility".
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Manchester United summer transfer targets Fabinho - Monaco An extremely versatile player Mourinho sees him more as a defensive midfielder and could be used to give Paul Pogba, last summer's big addition, more freedom. Monaco aren't in any rush to lose any more first team stars this summer though and are likely to demand a hefty fee. Likelihood: 7/10
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Manchester United summer transfer targets Eric Dier - Tottenham United have already had a bid less than £25m rejected for the defensive midfielder and know they must more than double it to have any hope of signing Dier, who is understood to want the move.
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Manchester United summer transfer targets Nemanja Matic - Chelsea Nemanja Matic has twice worked under Jose Mourinho before and he wants to make it a third time at United. However, after beating Chelsea to Romelu Lukaku, relations between the two clubs have been soured somewhat.
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Manchester United summer transfer targets Gareth Bale - Real Madrid The Real Madrid forward would be a marquee signing, the type that the Manchester United boardroom are keen to make, and The Independent has been told by sources from both United and Madrid that a deal is 'much likelier' than ever before. The player himself though is happy in the Spanish capital. Likelihood: 5/10
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Manchester United summer transfer targets Willian - Chelsea Mourinho is a huge admirer of Willian, who he signed in 2013 while at Chelsea. The pair won a Premier League title and League Cup double together the following year and it is believed that the United manager will do his best to sign the player, who has not been a regular starter in Antonio Conte’s system. Whether Chelsea will allow him to leave, particularly to join Mourinho at their rivals is yet to be seen. Likelihood: 4/10
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Manchester United summer transfer targets Andrea Belotti - Torino Another of Europe’s most promising players, Belotti is fast becoming well-known after his outstanding performances at Torino, where he has scored 37 goals in 64 appearances since 2015. His best years are still ahead of him aged just 23, which contributes to the incredible €100m release clause, applicable only to clubs outside of Italy, negotiated into his contract. Torino are in no hurry to sell and will drive a hard bargain with any deal likely to start at upwards of £70m. Likelihood: 7/10
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But, with United now wary of negotiating with Inter over Perisic given their reluctance to sell – and insistence that Anthony Martial should be involved – The Independent reported on Monday how the club are now looking at alternative options, namely Tottenham Hotspur’s Danny Rose .
And Mourinho appeared to allude to this struggle to bring in Perisic and his frustration in doing so when he conceded that his former club have done well for keeping him this summer.
“That's football,” he told Premium Sport . “If I was playing against Inter tomorrow I'd want to win.
“They're strong, they put up a good defence to keep someone who's an important player for them. That's football.”
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