Ivan Perisic has made a solid start to his time at Tottenham. The Croatian made the move at the end of May, so has already been in N17 for a few months.
Perisic made just one appearance in Spurs' pre-season friendlies, as he continued to recover from an injury he picked up at the end of his time at Inter Milan. The 33-year-old is now battling with Ryan Sessegnon for a spot in the left wing-back position.
The Croat has featured in all four of Tottenham's first four games and started the last two. Antonio Conte's side have had a solid start to the 2022/23 campaign, with three wins and a draw, taking them into third place after four games.
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The Lilywhites' next fixture is against West Ham and ahead of the clash, the summer arrival has spoken to Spurs about his start in north London. "I'm currently settling in at the club, everything is perfect, everything is amazing," he said in an interview on Tottenham's streaming service, SPURSPLAY.
"[The] club is top, training camp is really amazing too and the city. The city is quite big but I have now a lot of time to see all the interesting places and I'm waiting also for my family to come back here. I will go with them the city, when I get some time because it's now we start to play each three days, it's going to be tough."
Perisic's calf injury, that he sustained at the end of last season, meant he has had to do a lot of recovery to regain fitness. The wing-back admitted that it was more of a serious injury than he thought.
However, despite being told he would need ten weeks to recover, the 33-year-old played his first game after eight. In his four Premier League appearances so far, Perisic has registered two assists, made nine tackles and 14 crosses, but there is still something he is waiting for.
"I'm happy but I'm still waiting for my first goal, I hope it's going to come soon, but I'm really also happy with assists. The most important thing is the team is winning and that we can get a lot of points," he admitted.
The Croat's first assist was in the 2-2 draw against Chelsea, with the victory against Wolves seeing Perisic flick Son Heung-min's corner onto Harry Kane's head and into the back of the net. "We did a lot of good trainings and good situations like this and everything which you do on the training camp, it can only help you for the games," the former Inter Milan man explained.
Perisic then went on to talk about Conte, a manager he has played under before and the difficulty and versatility that is required, as a wing-back. "He [Conte] demands a lot because like a wing-back, when you don't have the ball you are a defender. When you do have the ball you have to be a winger and when we try to build it up from the behind, you are also midfielder. That means you have to be really focused because it's a really important position," he said.
"Like I said, doesn't matter where I play, doesn't matter how long I'm going to play, it's important the team wins and that I can give my best every day, every game." Perisic describes the wing-back role as a "perfect" position for him and it is Conte who has helped him adapt to the role.
The 33-year-old has had plenty of experience in leagues across the world and this is something he can bring to the Tottenham dressing room, with his sense of leadership. Perisic has already been spotted talking to his teammates during games and both Djed Spence and Ryan Sessegnon have opened up on conversations they have had with the summer arrival.
His relationship with Sessegnon is something the Croatian opened up on in his recent interview and how important communication can be within the Spurs team, something fans won't always see. "I know that before he [Sessegnon] used to play like a winger, like me and now he change this position too.
"I know also from my situation, when I was younger, when I was playing in all these clubs, I had always experience players who helped me a lot and who spoke with me, gave me advice and now what does it mean for this kind of young player if I go to him, if I tell him what to do, if he's doing something wrong.
"I think this is also important for the team, that we speak between us, that we help eachother and just like this, we can do some great things," Perisic added. The 33-year-old's experience in different leagues and with different teams has also come with winning silverware.
Tottenham are hoping Conte can help them end their 14-year trophy drought and they have plenty of opportunities to do so this season, including their return to Champions League football. Perisic also commented on the European competition and the feelings the whole Spurs squad have towards it.
"I had a few really good moments in the past in the Champions League but I want more. I'm hungry and I also spoke with other players, we can't wait and we feel that something special is coming up," he said. "Honestly, we have to go for the first place, we have to start like this to think and fight for the first place. It's also important for the draw later. I believe in my team, in my coach and in my teammates, I think we can go for the first place in the group."
Perisic is clearly slotting into the Tottenham dressing room well and has high hopes for his new side's season, something that fans will hope can come true. The 33-year-old now just needs to continue working hard to fight for regular game time and continue helping the likes of Sessegnon develop.
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