Inter Milan manager Luciano Spalletti would like to speak with star midfielder Ivan Perisic, who he says has become “distracted” by interest from Manchester United.
United manager Jose Mourinho has identified the Croatia international as a key target in his summer rebuilding program at Old Trafford, and sources confirmed to ESPN FC’s Mark Ogden that the Europa League winners and Inter discussed the player’s valuation at the beginning of last month.
Despite Inter later telling United that they would not drop their €55 million (£48m) asking price for the winger, reports of Perisic’s desire to join the Premier League club have persisted, and the former Roma boss has promised to meet with the Croatia international in hopes of clearing the air.
“I will speak to everyone and, of course, for those who are ‘distracted’ there will be different words,” Spalletti told a news conference on Sunday.
“I will listen to him. I’m counting on him but we’ll have to understand his intentions. It would not be nice for me to hear him say words like ‘I want to leave.’ We’ll see.
“You keep talking about Perisic and his desire to leave but I need to listen to his own words first and then decide how to act.
“In any case, I will say this: We are Inter and we can choose to make different decisions to the ideas of the players. I hope to have him in the side, I am counting on it and I am positive in that sense.”