Ivan Perisic - How Manchester United's antithesis could become Jose Mourinho's messiah
There has been widespread speculation over Ivan Perisic’s future the last couple of months. The Inter man has been linked with Manchester United since the very moment that Jose Mourinho had been spotted watching a Croatia match in Zagreb all the way back in February.
Strangely enough, it was in a match in which the winger didn’t feature. Still, there have been reports constantly linking him with a move to Old Trafford with even personal terms settled – the only stumbling block being the clubs’ varying valuations of the Croat.
So what exactly would the former Dortmund man bring to Mourinho’s Manchester United?
Throughout his career, Perisic has been a player who has depended more on his physicality rather than ability. Standing at 6’2”, he is a quick, strong winger who absolutely loves to take on the full back and beat him repeatedly.
He is one of the most ambidextrous players in world football, adept at creating goalscoring opportunities, lobbing the ball above a few defenders or even taking them on with both feet.
He has a very safe, tried and tested method of attacking, often leading him to be considered a ‘one trick pony’ similar to Bayern Munich’s Dutch wizard Arjen Robben. Another similarity he bears to Robben is the ‘cut in and shoot’ or ‘feint right, go left and unleash a cross’ move which can be extremely difficult to stop in full flow.
The archetypical Jose Mourinho wideman
Perhaps one of the Croat’s greatest strengths is his ability to tirelessly keep darting into the final third as well as track back in the opposite direction to help out his full back. He relentlessly goes into last-ditch tackles on the flank and this essentially helps to either put the ball out of play and damage the opposition’s flow or recycle possession and begin a sharp counter.
This was evident from his average of 1 tackle, 0.97 interceptions and 0.78 clearances per match this past season in the Italian top flight (bear in mind that he is a winger).
This facet of his game is something that might endear the former Wolfsburg winger to Mourinho. The Portuguese values players’ work rate and ability to track back more than most others, which is where Perisic might potentially excel.
Another important factor is his aerial threat. He is reasonably good in the air and has the potential to provide something that the other wide men available to the former Chelsea boss do not.
Firstly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Juan Mata, and Jesse Lingard are all natural No. 10s pushed to wide positions, and Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford are better off as central strikers. There is a dearth of natural wide players which is shocking considering the illustrious history of wingers at Manchester United and Jose Mourinho teams in the past. Perisic is an out-and-out wide player who licks his lips at the prospect of hunting his full back down.
Secondly, Mourinho has a strange preference for including tall players on his side. Standing tall at 6’2”, Perisic can be a valuable recipient of the countless number of long balls launched forward in order to break oppositions' high press.
The Europa League final against Ajax was an excellent example of this. With Zlatan Ibrahimovic unavailable due to injury, Fellaini was tasked with the job of winning the aerial duels in order to help break and counter Ajax’s high press. He did the job brilliantly, winning three aerial duels more than the whole of Ajax combined.
Perisic could be utilised in such situations. He won 45% of his aerial duels this past season in the Serie A – which is more than decent for his role.
Verdict
One of the biggest arguments against this proposed transfer on social media is the fact that he isn’t a star player who is worth the enormous fee that is being demanded by Inter Milan. Moreover, he just turned 28 a few months ago. There is not exactly a lot of ‘potential’ considering his age.
But over the last few years, Manchester United have spent enough money on players ‘for the future’. Perisic is a finished product who can provide quality for the next 3-4 years, which is something that Manchester United need at the moment – immediate impact.
The Inter man is a seasoned player who’s utility is more than one-dimensional, and though he isn’t a superstar such as an Eden Hazard or a Neymar, he has the grit, power, and experience to excel in the Premier League.
To add to that, even if United were to lure a player coated with a little more ‘stardust’ such as Antoine Griezmann, Perisic is the type of player whose work rate on the pitch might benefit the other attackers and help create a platform for his more creative peers to shine.
The best reference to this is his excellent European campaign in France alongside the likes of Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic. He was talismanic for the Croatian side that had a good run in the tournament. The winger even managed six goals in nine matches during qualification, scoring away at the San Siro against Italy.
He might not perfectly fit the bill for Manchester United, but he certainly fits the bill for Mourinho. After all, Ed Woodward and the United faithful knew what they were getting into when they approached the Portuguese to take up the reins at Old Trafford.