The closer we get to the transfer window, the less Manchester United seem keen to spend big on Inter Milan’s Ivan Perisic.
First, it was €60m, then €50m, followed by “negotiations to start at €40m”, which suggested it could go higher.
Now? “€45m”, if Corriere della Sera are to be believed.
The Italian newspaper look at Inter Milan’s upcoming transfer window, with all their new money, but with the Serie A club needing to somehow make €30m before the 30th of June to meet FFP requirements, a sale is needed before then.
The easiest way of doing this is to sell your most expensive expendable player to a team with no financial problems, such as Manchester United, Chelsea or Paris Saint-Germain, the three teams currently said to be ken on Perisic.
The newspaper state both José Mourinho and Antonio Conte are prepared to put €45m, while the Ligue 1 side could reach €50m.
This puts the French club in the driving seat, as more money the better in Milan, and Piero Ausilio, the club’s director of football, is said to be working hard to get something sorted with one of these sides.
For the Red Devils, however, the situation appears to now be a far cry from the Gazzetta dello Sport claims that Mourinho was prepared to do everything in his power to sign Perisic this summer, especially after his Croatia trip.
Could Champions League football and the potential of attracting better players to the club for next season have something to do with it? We’ll have to wait and see.