Manchester United ahead of Everton in the chase of Two-time Bundesliga winner

Manchester United have already established contact with Ivan Perisic while Everton is still mulling over a possible transfer.

Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic returned to Milan after a successful loan spell in Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, winning the Treble. His all round performances with the Bavarians caught the eye of many clubs across Europe including the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Everton is also one of the clubs being associated with the Croatian.

Ivan Perisic is still going strong at the age of 31. While many anticipated that his loan move to Bayern Munich will be a failure, he has proved every doubter wrong with brilliant displays. Manchester United was eager on him during the time when Jose Mourinho was the manager and now it seems as though Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also admires the Croat and wants him at Old Trafford.

Meanwhile, the interest from Tottenham Hotspur is almost dead after Spurs secured a loan move for Gareth Bale from Real Madrid. Everton and Leicester City are also in the hunt for the 31 year old but it is soon expected that even Leicester will call their pursuit off after an agreement with AS Roma for Cengiz Under.

This leaves Manchester United and Everton as realistic hunters for Ivan Perisic. It appears that Manchester United have gained an advantage on Everton and have already made contact with Inter Milan for a transfer, as per Daily Express. Meanwhile, Everton are only credited with an interest and no enquiries have taken place yet between the Toffees and the Serie A club.

Inter Milan is open to selling the Croatian and value him in the region of £15-£20 million. With Manchester United ahead in the race, should the Toffees get their act up and relentlessly pursue the Inter Milan man?

In my opinion, not signing Ivan Perisic won’t wreak havoc or won’t cause the world of Evertonians to turn upside down. Taking a close and calculated look at the current squad scenario, the Royal Blues are in desperate needs to reinforce their central defence more than any other area on the pitch.

Jarrad Branthwaite and Mason Holgate will be out for a significant amount of time meaning only Yerry Mina and Michael Keane are the senior available centre backs.

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Yerry Mina is also injury prone and overburdening him may even cause in his rupture, which is simply not affordable. At this moment, signing a centre back on loan or via a permanent transfer should be the priority for Marcel Brands.

As for Ivan Perisic, yes, he surely is a top player who hasn’t shown signs of de-growth despite the age. A player like him brings that extra kilo of experience to the side, something that will be as valuable as gold for a team like Everton who has European ambitions.

However, Everton have already added experience in terms of Allan and James Rodriguez who have won accolades in different leagues while also adding the Premier League awareness in form of Abdoulaye Doucoure.

If the Merseysiders want to add a player in the attacking unit, it should be someone young who is on the cusp of entering his prime or in his prime. So, even if the Toffees miss out on Ivan Perisic, it won’t be a big loss.