Former Tottenham and England playmaker Chris Waddle has questioned Antonio Conte’s decision to sign Ivan Perisic from Inter Milan this summer.
Spurs completed their first signing of the summer window by securing versatile forward Perisic from Inter on a free transfer. The experienced Croatia international has won league titles with Inter, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, and reached the final of the 2018 World Cup with Croatia.
The decision to sign the 33-year-old, who played under Conte at the San Siro, has left Waddle confused. The 62-cap Three Lions international believes that Spurs need to prioritise a new centre-back and that Perisic does not have the fitness or stamina required to play regularly in the Premier League.
"Ivan Perisic is a strange signing for Spurs,"Waddle told BoyleSports Premier League. "They need to sign another centre-back, while [ Newcastle forward] Allan Saint-Maximin would annoy Antonio Conte. Ivan Perisic is a strange signing because he's not the most physical player, doesn't have the best stamina, and he's joining a league where you do need a pair of legs.
"He's a free transfer, and it's a little bit against Tottenham's policies to sign someone like Perisic, but clearly Conte has got his way there, and there will probably be two or three more additions. They need to get another centre-back. I know they've got Joe Rodon, who plays really well for Wales, but he can't seem to get a look in."
Waddle continued: "They're linked with Allan Saint-Maximin, and the Spurs fans would be very excited to get him. But I think he'd be a very frustrating player for Antonio Conte, and he needs to be consistent and provide more of an end product if he wants to be a starter for Spurs every week."
Will Ivan Perisic flourish in the Premier League? Have your say in the comments section.
Perisic arrives at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the back of an impressive 2021/22 season with Inter. While the Nerazzurri narrowly missed out on the league title to local rivals AC Milan, Perisic scored 10 times in 49 appearances in all competitions.
The Croatian’s exit from the San Siro comes after a seven-year spell in Italy during which he scored 55 times in 254 appearances in all competitions. During that time, he won Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana, with Perisic’s league title win coming during Conte’s final season at Inter.
The arrival of Perisic is not the only deal done by Spurs in the early stages of the summer, with the transfer window not opening officially until Friday. On Wednesday morning, Spurs completed the signing of goalkeeper Fraser Forster following his exit from Southampton.
Forster, who made his England debut in 2013, was recalled to the squad earlier this year following an injury to West Brom stopper Sam Johnstone, who is also set to become a free agent at the end of this month.
Tottenham have been heavily linked with re-signing Swedish international winger Dejan Kulusevski, who impressed for Spurs in the second half of the 2021/22 campaign while on loan from Juventus.
In his 18 Premier League appearances, Kulusevski scored five goals and provided eight assists, averaging a direct goal contribution every 97.5 minutes in England’s top-flight.
