One of Tottenham's six new recruits Ivan Perisic has pointed to international teammate Luka Modric when discussing his age, insisting it is not important as he looks to make his Spurs debut in the Premier League against Southampton.
Perisic hasn't had the fullest pre-season calendar after suffering an injury on the last day of the season for Inter, but his professionalism and drive at 33 years of age to get back into contention for the opening game at home to the Saints this weekend has been credited by manager Antonio Conte.
"It's normal after a serious injury to be struggling a bit to come back in the best physical condition. Honestly I'm surprised because he reduced his time to recover. We are really happy," the Italian said in his pre-Southampton press conference.
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"At the same time we are not worried but we have to pay a bit of attention to give him the right time to adapt himself to recover 100% after his injury. But I know him very well and he is a very good addition for us, it will be really important for his experience for the younger players.
"Sessegnon is a player who plays in the same role. Ivan can teach him a lot of situations to improve Sess, but even for sure he is a really good addition for us for many aspects. Then we will see. We have another training session tomorrow - play him or Sess (laughter)."
Some rival fans have already doubted why Spurs would make this free signing acquisition with the 'age' factor taken into account but a good working relationship with Conte from their Inter Milan days together that makes this deal a no-brainer.
The versatile player himself has commented on the 'age' factor and made a Luka Modric comparison to suggest just why he believes he's got what it takes to make a good impact in the Premier League.
"Just look at my teammate from the national team Luka Modric, he's 37, still doing unbelievable things, age isn’t important." he told Sky Sports. "It's important what you feel inside and if you still have a hunger to be competitive and to win the games.
"If you lose this, then you are going to be dead. You have to keep working and pushing everyday to wake up with the same mentality. It's not a problem if like I said many times before, I want to play until I'm 40 and for this, I have to work every day even more than before.
Tottenham fans- Do you believe that Ivan Perisic will be a success in the Premier League? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
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