Manchester United are on the verge of signing Inter winger Ivan Perisic for a fee of £40.4 million.
The Croatian has been the subject of a lengthy pursuit by Jose Mourinho’s side this summer, but the two clubs have been unable to come to an agreement regarding a transfer fee.
United had initially hoped to use Inter’s desperation to meet Financial Fair Play commitments in order to prise away the 28-year-old for a fee of around £26.4m, but after the Nerazzurri were able to raise the funds elsewhere the Reds lost their leverage.
But, as Goal reported in June, Perisic remains keen to leave San Siro for the Premier League and ordered his agent to do everything necessary to force through a deal with United.
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The player himself has also made his disaffection known to his employers, with his decision to make himself unavailable for the recent friendly with Nuremberg because of toothache believed by many to have been an overt message to the Inter board.
And now United are ready to tie up a deal, with Mourinho keen to get his two remaining summer targets through the door sooner rather than later. However, the Portuguese said on Friday that he understands why things are tough for executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward when it comes to negotiations.
Mourinho needs 'two more signings'
“I would not like to be in Ed Woodward’s position negotiating because everything is really difficult,” he told reporters ahead of United's first pre-season friendly against the LA Galaxy.
“So maybe we don’t get two, we get one, but we need one more to give us more options.”
United have already signed defender Victor Lindelof from Benfica and Everton striker Romelu Lukaku, with Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic also a target.
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