Manchester United confident of Ivan Perisic deal with Inter Milan under pressure to sell £50m winger

Mourinho is also very keen to add a defensive midfielder with Monaco duo Tiemoue Bakayoko and Fabinho, Chelsea's Nemanja Matic and Eric Dier of Tottenham all being considered

Miguel Delaney
Chief Football Writer
Tuesday 13 June 2017 14:18 BST
Comments
Ivan Perisic is desperate to move to United with the club increasingly confident they can get a deal done
Ivan Perisic is desperate to move to United with the club increasingly confident they can get a deal done (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Internazionale’s Ivan Perisic is “hugely keen and excited” to play for Jose Mourinho, and personal terms have been agreed, as Manchester United look to add the Croatian wide player to the prospective signing of Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid over the next week.

Mourinho is determined to get the Premier League club’s highest-priority business done by the start of July, and it is understood that the main negotiation point that needs to be sorted in both deals is the transfer fee.

Real Madrid have been holding out for £78m on Morata, with Internazionale hopeful of £50m for Perisic.

The fact that both players are so keen on the moves strengthens United’s hand. There is still a significant difference of around £15m in what the Old Trafford club are willing to pay for Perisic and what Internazionale want, but the Italian club also face pressure from the other side given that they need to bring in £26m before the end of June to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations.

The 28-year-old has long been “desperate” for the move, and also almost exactly fits Mourinho’s profile of a hard-working wide attacking player, akin to his ideal for the role, Willian.

Negotiations for Morata are meanwhile said to have generally gone “very smoothly”, although it will ultimately come down to what Real are willing to accept, even though they are in principle willing to sell to do their own business. A further potential complication for United is the David De Gea situation.

Perisic fits the profile of what Mourinho is looking for
Perisic fits the profile of what Mourinho is looking for (Getty)

Although there had been widespread reports in Spanish media during the past week that Real had cooled their interest, and that the Champions League winners’ squad had persuaded manager Zinedine Zidane to stick with Keylor Navas, some sources close to the Bernabeu feel they could yet try and leverage negotiations with United by asking for the goalkeeper to be included in any deal. United however remain hopeful that will not be the case, and are still standing firm that De Gea is not going anywhere.

The signing of Torino’s Andrea Belotti meanwhile looks increasingly unlikely, as the Serie A club are completely unwilling to accept an offer lower than the 23-year-old striker’s £84m buy-out clause, and United are themselves unwilling to go that high.

Mourinho is meanwhile more intent on a defensive midfielder than an extra option to Morata, and United are currently pursuing a number of options. They may yet challenge Chelsea’s pursuit of 22-year-old Tiemoue Bakayoko of Monaco, although he is currently likely to go to Stamford Bridge, while sources close to both Old Trafford and the French club are adamant that there has been contact between intermediaries regarding Bakayoko’s teammate Fabinho.

Monaco are under no pressure to sell, and will insist on a high price for the 23-year-old, meaning Mourinho could yet turn to his former Chelsea player Nemanja Matic or the back-up option of Tottenham Hotspur’s Eric Dier.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in