Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
After leaving Serie A runners up AS Roma just under a fortnight ago, Luciano Spalletti has not had to wait very long to find gainful employment. The 58 year old will now call the San Siro home after being appointed as manager of Inter Milan.
Now sooner has he been installed then he has undertook his first bit of business, that being giving the green light for the departure of Croatian midfielder Ivan Perisic and that announcement will certainly be welcomed in and around Old Trafford.
That is because Manchester United have listed Perisic as one of their major transfer targets for this summer and will be encouraged by the words coming out of Milan earlier today. Although it is deal that has failed to gain any real traction due to a couple of reasons.
Firstly Inter were looking to install a new man at the helm and could not be seen to sell one of their prized assets before naming a new manager, that could have jepoardised any potential new appointment for the 2010 Champions League winners.
With Spalletti giving his approval for Perisic to leave that is one major hurdle now cleared for United the second and arguably the most important one is the transfer fee which the Croatian international command. The Inter hierarchy are believed to be looking for £45m while Jose Mourinho is looking to get change from £30m.
It may seem as United are trying to low ball Inter but they are fully aware of the fact that the club need to find £28m before the end of the month to avoid further financial fair play restrictions and with that in mind it presents the ideal chance to get a talented player on the cheap.
Inter simply cannot afford to play hard ball while the balance of power seems to be with Jose Mourinho’s United in this instance. It could simply boil down to United paying the balance owed to UEFA on Inter Milan’s behalf and getting Perisic into the bargain.
The deal will need to be concluded by the end of the month unless Inter can shed some other names from the squad but with Spalletti not standing in the way of any deal it would make perfect sense for a transfer to be arranged before June 30. A deal for Perisic is not complete but it is has certainly moved a step closer.
