Conte: 'Perisic not suited' to Inter role

By Football Italia staff

Antonio Conte sent shockwaves through Inter by declaring Ivan Perisic “is not suited the role I am asking for, so right now the only place he can play is upfront.”

The move to a 3-5-2 formation is proving a problem for the Croatia international, who today only came off the bench in the second half of their 1-0 defeat to Manchester United.

“We are working, but the responses so far are not positive,” said Conte in his Press conference.

“I don’t think Perisic is suited to the role I am asking for, so right now the only place he can play is upfront. There are roles to be respected and you cannot change the characteristics of a player. The sensations I get are negative, so I don't think he can give the team what it needs.

“On the other hand, I saw Dalbert play very well on the left flank and he worked really hard. We knew that we’d suffer in this match and in pre-season generally, as there is so much work to be done and no time to really focus on training.”

The Perisic issue would mean yet another player Inter have in the squad who is not part of Conte’s plans for this season, after Mauro Icardi and Radja Nainggolan were frozen out.

Borja Valero is also on the exit list and said to be in advanced talks for a return to Fiorentina.

Considering how much Manchester United wanted Perisic last year, he could be proposed as part of Inter’s latest bid for Romelu Lukaku.

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