Ivan Perisic has opened up about his move to Tottenham Hotspur, citing Antonio Conte and the lure of the Premier League as two reasons why he joined the north London club.
The wing-back joins Tottenham after a fantastic final season at Inter, during which he was the club’s best performer – evening scoring the winner against arch rivals Juventus in the Coppa Italia final.
Now a Tottenham player, Perisic has given his first interview with the club.
“I’m really excited to join the Spurs family,” he said. “When I got in contact with the coach and the sporting director I told them that I really wanted to come here – I’ve wanted to play in the Premier League since 2009 when I started to play professional football in Belgium.
“It’s a privilege to work with a coach like this. We did well at Inter, we won the league for the first time in 10 or 11 years and it was really a perfect year. I’m really happy to see him again.
“He lives football, every minute, every hour, every day. Even when he’s sleeping he’s thinking about football. I like his character and I know that we’re going to do a great job here.
“I’m going to bring a lot of hard work because I like to work for the team and because only like this can you win something important. I can play several positions in the system that Tottenham is playing now. And I will also bring a lot of experience because I’ve played for a lot of great clubs.
“I’ve followed Tottenham because a lot of Croatian players have played here, then later I played with them in the national team.
“Now I’m going to ask them a few more questions about the club, about the city and I’m sure that they’re going to help me.
“It was always my dream to play in the five best leagues in the world and the Premier League was the missing piece in the puzzle. Now I’m here and I want to do my best.”
