Tottenham's summer signing spree starts with Ivan Perisic

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Tottenham's summer signing spree starts with Ivan Perisic

Published: 02 Jun. 2022, 11:34

Inter Milan's Ivan Perisic celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during a Serie A match against Sampdoria at the San Siro stadium in Milan on May 22. [AP/YONHAP]

Tottenham Hotspur kicked off their summer signing spree on Tuesday, confirming that Croatian striker Ivan Perisic is joining the London club on a free transfer from Inter Milan.

At 33-years-old, Perisic's storied career has seen him win the Bundesliga twice, the DFB-Pokal three times, Serie A once, the Coppa Italia once and the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League. He was also part of the 2018 World Cup runner-up Croatia squad, where he also became the first Croatian footballer ever to score in a World Cup final.

Perisic was an obvious choice for Tottenham manager Antonio Conte, who coached him for two years at Inter Milan. For Tottenham the move was less obvious — the club has typically looked to sign younger, emerging players that the club can develop and potentially trade in the future.

Early in his Tottenham career, Conte even complained about the club's penchant for signing developing players, the implication being that he fundamentally disagreed with the approach. Considering that history, the quick signing of Perisic suggests the club has completely handed the reigns over to the manager.

Tottenham have clearly entered the summer meaning business. The club received a £150-million equity injection last month that is expected to be spent on player acquisition. The move marks a huge change of direction for a club that hasn't had a cash injection since 2004 and even then it was only worth 10 percent of this year's figure.

Both the cash injection and the signing are very clear messages of support for Conte who, after the club went through years of strife following the departure of Mauricio Pochettino, has clearly proven his worth to Chairman Daniel Levy with the team's performance in the latter half of the season.

Joining a rudderless Spurs at the end of 2021 after the blink-and-you'll-miss-it Nuno Espirito Santo era, Conte somehow turned the team around and produced an efficient, effective football club good enough to take fourth on the table, earn a Champions League spot and carry Son Heung-min to the Premier League Golden Boot. Based on their performance at the end of the season, you get the feeling that had Conte been around a bit longer, they could have gone even higher.

The reward for that service, it appears, will be a serious shopping spree this summer.

The club has already seen some serious success with its midseason signings. Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur both proved to be inspired additions to the club, picking up 12 assists between them with Kulusevski also adding five goals of his own.

With Perisic, Conte has clearly decided to get things started with a tried-and-tested medal winner who can help guide younger members of the squad. Adding that veteran touch might give Spurs a crucial edge and help plug the hole in the club exposed at the start of last season when Harry Kane considered moving elsewhere.

Conte reportedly wants at least six signings this summer, so there are likely to be at least five more. One potential option is rumored to be former Tottenham man Christian Eriksen, who is currently playing with Brentford. Another option was rumored to be Fenerbahce's Korean center back Kim Min-jae, but recent surgery may make it hard for The Monster to find a new deal with year.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]