The roads of European football have a funny way of looping back on themselves, don't they Ivan Perisic, the Croatian warhorse who swept through the Ne...
The roads of European football have a funny way of looping back on themselves, don't they Ivan Perisic, the Croatian warhorse who swept through the Nerazzurri ranks with such venom, is reportedly agitating for a return to Inter. Word from the boot room at GoalZaza suggests the 35 year old is so desperate to pull on the black and blue kit again that he is prepared to knock on the PSV Eindhoven door and ask for the keys back.It was 2022 when Perisic walked away from the San Siro, a decision that left more than a few fans scratching their heads. The man could glide down the left flank with that whipped cross or cut inside and smash one into the far corner. He was a key cog in Simone Inzaghi's transitional machine. Now, after a spell in the Premier League with Tottenham that never quite caught fire and a brief Dutch sojourn, the veteran seems to feel that his business in Milan is unfinished.Let's be honest. Inter's left side this season has lacked that bite, that relentless overlap that used to stretch low blocks into ribbons. Federico Dimarco has his moments, but he does not offer the same physical heft or aerial threat that Perisic provides in the penalty area. A return would not be a sentimental signing. It would be a tactical injection of know how and sheer bloody mindedness. Inzaghi would suddenly have an option who can play as a wing back or even push higher up the pitch if the game needs a bit of chaos in the final third.There is, of course, the question of legs. At 35, you do not buy Perisic for the marathon. You buy him for the final sprint, the Champions League knockout rounds, those squeaky bum time moments when experience counts more than raw pace. PSV will not let him go cheaply, but if the player himself is pushing for the exit, the Dutch side may have little choice but to listen to offers.This feels like a move driven by the heart as much as the head. Perisic knows the city, knows the crowd, knows exactly what it means to walk out of that tunnel with the curva booing the opposition. If he can recapture even 70 per cent of his best form, Inter will have pulled off a piece of business that makes everyone sit up and take notice. A prodigal son, returning to finish what he started.
