Inter Milan chief executive Giuseppe Marotta has confirmed Ivan Perisic is leaving the club for a "new experience in the Premier League" as the Croatian winger closes in on a move to Tottenham Hotspur.
Perisic, 33, will leave Inter when his contract expires at the end of June and was in London on Monday to undergo a medical at Tottenham. According to reports, the Croatia international will sign a two-year contract with Spurs, where he will be reunited with former Inter manager Antonio Conte.
Perisic, who can operate either as a winger or at wing-back, played more than 250 games for Inter and won the Serie A title under Conte in 2021. He also scored twice in the Coppa Italia final earlier this month to guide the Nerazzurri to victory over Juventus.
Perisic spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Bayern Munich, where he won the Bundesliga, German Cup, and Champions League treble, and in 2018 helped Croatia finish runners-up at the World Cup in Russia.
"There is regret," Marotta told reporters on Monday. "But he wanted to try a new experience in the Premier League.
"We were not in a position to make better offers, simply his choice was based on a different future than the current one. Maximum respect for that and a big thank you to him as well."
As Perisic leaves, Inter will hope to replace his attacking ability with Paulo Dybala, who is leaving Juventus when his contract expires next month. Inter are favourites to land the 28-year-old Argentine forward, and are also linked with a move for former striker Romelu Lukaku, 12 months after the Belgian left for a return to Chelsea.
"Dybala and Lukaku? From our side there is no anxiety, we don't have to do anything in a hasty way," Marotta said. "The hope is that Dybala can play with us."
Inter finished the Serie A season as runners-up, two points behind rivals AC Milan, and were defeated in the Champions League Round of 16 by eventual finalists Liverpool.
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