Arsenal fans were buoyed by the news last night that Ivan Perisic has handed in a transfer request as he aims to leave Inter Milan during this window. However, the Inter manager Luciano Spalletti was keen to point out it is not quite as simple as letting the Croatian midfielder leave.
Inter lost this weekend away at Torino, with Perisic an unused substitute. After the defeat, Spalletti said:
“Ivan Perisic? Players are employees of the club, if they want to leave, they have to find someone who is willing to pay their wages. You can’t just leave for free, that’s not how it works. Marotta is right, if Perisic doesn’t want to stay here then he will be left out from my squad.”
Arsenal are in a tricky position financially in this window as they look to potentially bring in Perisic and Denis Suarez, from Barcelona. Both Barca and Inter would prefer the deals for their players to be permanent rather than the loan deals Arsenal are suggesting, so the Gunners may have to sell a player if they are to seal these deals.
Giuseppe Marotta, the Inter director, told Sky in Italy: "Perisic has asked to leave but there is no offer for him. We will see in the coming days.
"We will listen to the request of Perisic, he has put in a transfer request; we must try to satisfy him but also respect the value of him."
If Arsenal can get this deal over the line then Perisic could turn out to be the signing that thrusts them back towards a top-four finish.
