Perisic back on United’s radar
Darmian mooted as makeweight in deal for Croatia's World Cup star
Ivan Perisic is back on the transfer market radar, following his heroics for Croatia at the recently concluded World Cup.
Last summer, English Premier League giants Manchester United refused to meet Inter Milan's valuation of £44 million (S$79m) for their star winger.
Perisic stayed on at the San Siro and helped the Serie A side to Champions League qualification before finishing his season with a runners-up medal at the World Cup.
His performances, which includes scoring a goal in Croatia's 4-2 defeat by France in the World Cup final, have fuelled speculation that United are keen to get the 29-year-old this season, with fullback Matteo Darmian expected to be part of the negotiation process.
Italian newspaper Tuttosport has revealed that Perisic's agent, Fali Ramadani, was called to England to broker a deal.
The daily added that Inter continue to be reluctant to sell their prized asset and would consider his value to be 70m euros (S$112m) plus Darmian.
Perisic, however, has played down the speculation, insisting that he is not thinking about a move away from Inter.
"So far I have thought of Croatia. Now I will rest, I will return to focus on Inter," he said.
United have also been linked with Perisic's international teammate Ante Rebic.
Rebic, who plays his club football with Eintracht Frankfurt, scored against Argentina at the World Cup's group stage.
He made 28 appearances for the German side last season, scoring nine goals, including a brace in the German Cup final.
Whatever thoughts Perisic and Rebic may have regarding their future, it all took a backseat yesterday, when the Croatia national team returned home after their exploits in Russia.
Hundreds of thousands of Croatians took to the streets in Zagreb yesterday to greet their players. A crowd estimated by police at more than 550,000 people cheered the team during their parade on an open-top bus from the airport to the capital's main square, AFP reported.
It took five hours for the bus to get to Jelacic Square as it was moving slowly through euphoric fans, many waving flags, wearing the famous Croatia red and white shirt and singing popular songs.
Since the former Yugoslav republic's independence in 1991, Zagreb has only once seen a larger crowd - for the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1994.
More than 100,000 people thronged the square to hail Vatreni (the "Fiery Ones" in Croatian) led by captain and World Cup Golden Ball winner Luka Modric.
"Hrvatska, Hrvatska!" (Croatia) the fans chanted as team coach Zlatko Dalic and the players stepped on an improvised stage in front of a giant screen under a shower of red and white confetti. The players and the crowd sang the national anthem of the country of around four million people.
"Thank you Croatia! Thank you Zagreb! We have achieved our dream!" Modric told the euphoric crowd.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now