Tottenham have confirmed the signing of Ivan Perisic on a two-year deal ahead of his contract expiring at Inter Milan.
The free transfer will offically go through on July 1 ahead of the Croatian winger linking up with Antonio Conte, the pair having won the Scudetto together at the Giuseppe Meazza two seasons ago.
Inter admitted on Monday that they had lost the battle to keep Perisic, who is said to want a new challenge at Tottenham. He flew into London on the weekend to complete a medical on Monday ahead of today’s announcement.
Spurs will also sign Fraser Forster on a free transfer from Southampton when his contract at St Mary’s is up at the end of next month.
Conte has been promised significant funds to bolster his squad this summer after securing Champions League qualification. Perisic’s former teammate Alessandro Bastoni is thought to be the Italian’s next top target.
“I’m really excited to start with my new sports family, it’s going to be my home,” Perisic told the club’s media.
“When I got the contact from the coach and sporting director [Fabio Paratici] I told them that I really wanted to come here, and to the Premier League since 2009 when I started playing professionally in Belgium. This is the moment and I can’t wait.
“It’s a privilege work with a coach like this, we did well at Inter - we won the league after ten or 11 years. It was really a perfect year. I’m really happy to see him again, he lives football. Every minute, every hour, every day. Even when he’s sleeping, he’s thinking about football. I like his character and I know we’re going to do a great job here.
“I was watching the last two, three games. After beating Arsenal it was obvious that Tottenham would be in the Champions League and it’s also good for me because I want to play the best games.”
