Tottenham’s Ivan Perisic reveals how much longer he wants to play football
Ivan Perisic has insisted that he wants to continue playing professional football until he turns 40.
The Croat has been ageing like a fine wine and is coming off two fantastic seasons at left-wing-back. One of those was under Antonio Conte, where he played a key role in helping Inter end Juventus’ dominance in Serie A, bringing the 2020/21 Scudetto to the San Siro.
Despite being 33 years of age, Perisic remains extremely fit and insists that he is ready to test himself in the most physically demanding league in the world.
He told Sky Sports: “It’s important how you feel inside. I like to work every day, I like to work hard and when we do the sprint test I’m still on the level. My wish is to play until I am 40 and I think I’m now in the best stage, and I can still give a lot.
“I’m ready. I know it’s going to be tough. I’ve followed the Premier League for many years. I know the tempo is amazing, but like I said, I’m ready and I was working hard during the last season and I was preparing myself to come here and to be competitive here.”
Perisic scored 10 goals and provided nine assists across all competitions from left wing-back last season (Transfermarkt), and Tottenham fans will be hoping that the experienced wide-man is able to add more attacking edge down the left-hand side.
Conte helped to convert the new Spurs signing into a successful wing-back at Inter Milan, and Perisic admitted the position is perfectly suited to his attributes.
He added: “With him [Conte], I changed my position and he likes to play with three at the back. At Inter we used to play with 3-5-2 and I was on the left as a wing-back.
“In the beginning, I needed a few games to adapt. It’s really something new after so many years as a winger, but I think later I did well.
“Especially also last season with [Inter boss Simone] Inzaghi, because we kept playing the same tactic and now also here we’re going to try to play a similar system.
“I like to play in this position because I have more contact with the ball than as a winger and most of the time I’m facing the goal – and I also like to help the defence. I think it’s the perfect position for me.”
Spurs Web Opinion
One can argue that Perisic has been our most important signing of the summer despite the hype over the captures of Bissouma and Richarlison. Wing-backs are central to the way Conte plays and I believe that the Croat will contribute 10-15 goal contributions over the course of the campaign.
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