Jose Mourinho praises Inter Milan's 'strong defence' in refusing to sell £48m Ivan Perisic to Manchester United

The clubs have been locked in negotiations all summer over the Croatian

Jack Austin
Tuesday 08 August 2017 07:52 EDT
Comments
Perisic looks likely to remain at Inter Milan
Perisic looks likely to remain at Inter Milan (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.

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.

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.”

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