It’s not the first time Italian newspapers have reported Inter are ready to offer Ivan Perisic a new contract to ensure he doesn’t end up at Manchester United, yet, on Monday, it makes a lot more sense than it ever did.
The reason behind this is the Red Devils’ current reluctance to meet the Serie A side’s asking price, seemingly out of principle more than anything else, and their insistence Anthony Martial, who scored his first goal of the season against West Ham on Sunday, isn’t available on loan.
Because of all this, Ivan Perisic appears to have come round to the idea of staying at the San Siro for at least another year, and Inter are ready to reward him with a very generous pay rise as a thank you.
Gazzetta dello Sport explain the Italians will offer him a one-year extension, taking his contract until 2021, that will see his salary go from €3m/year to €5m/year, putting him close to Mauro Icardi, the club’s best paid player.
During Manchester United’s dilly dallying, Luciano Spalletti has managed to convince the 28-year-old of Inter’s project for the future, ‘making him feel even more important than he already was’.
Furthermore, Perisic is said to have realised that ‘dragging his feet’ (and disappearing from team photos) wouldn’t achieve anything, as the Serie A side ‘isn’t a supermarket anymore’, but a club set on returning to the Champions League and an ambitious future.
Of course, until the player signs the new deal, anything is possible, and Manchester United could still get their man if they throw €55m at Inter, but it certainly seems that as soon as pen is put to paper over at the San Siro, it really is game over for José Mourinho.
