Ivan Perisic leaves Tottenham on loan ahead of permanent summer departure
- Perisic has joined Croatian side Hajduk Split on loan for the rest of the season
- Winger will sign permanently when his Spurs contract expires in summer
- A knee injury has kept Perisic on the sidelines since September
By Tom Gott
Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed winger Ivan Perisic has joined Croatian side Hajduk Split on loan for the remainder of the season.
Perisic, who was signed on a free transfer from Inter in 2022, impressed in his debut year with Spurs but suffered a serious knee injury just six games into the 2023/24 campaign which has ultimately brought his career in England to a close.
With his contract with Spurs set to expire in the summer, Perisic has now returned to Croatia with Hajduk on a six-month loan.
Hajduk have also confirmed Perisic, who remains out with his knee issue, has agreed to join permanently at the end of the season.
Luksa Jakobusic, Hajduk president, later revealed that there is no loan fee and Perisic will be paid a base salary of just €1 across both this season and the 2024/25 campaign, although he can increase his earnings through bonuses.
It's an emotional move for Perisic, who came through the youth ranks at Hajduk but never made a senior appearance for the club before departing for Sochaux aged 17.
He leaves Spurs with a record of one goal and 14 assists in 50 appearances across all competitions, having been deployed largely in a wing-back role under Antonio Conte last season.
The summer arrivals of manager Ange Postecoglou and left-back Destiny Udogie saw Perisic returned to his natural forward position this season and the 34-year-old came off the bench in each of Spurs' first five Premier League games.
In his final appearance in the competition, Perisic assisted Richarlison's 98th-minute equaliser against Sheffield United in September, helping Spurs go on to seal the latest comeback victory in Premier League history.
A new winger could be on Spurs' agenda in the January transfer window, with reports in Belgium suggesting Club Brugge's Antonio Nusa, a target for Chelsea, is being pursued.
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