Tottenham Hotspur left-back Ivan Perisic is set to join hometown side Hajduk Split on loan as they look to win the league title for the first time in 19 seasons.
In the early hours of the 19th local time, transfer market journalist Fabrizio Romano tweeted, “Exclusive: Ivan Perisic’s return to Hajduk Split is well underway and is now in the final stages! Perisic wants to return to make history for the club. Tottenham are ready to accept a loan move until the end of the season,” revealing that all parties, including Perisic, are in positive talks.
A former Heydouk youth player, Perisic made his professional debut for Belgian side KSV Rousselare in the 2008/09 season after spending time with French side FC Chauchaux B. He impressed in his first season with eight goals and two assists in 20 appearances, before moving to Club Brugge in 2009/10, where he scored 35 goals and 23 assists in 89 games over two seasons, topping the scoring charts with 22 goals in 2010/11.
His performances earned him a move to Borussia Dortmund in Germany in 2011/12, where he scored 12 goals and provided seven assists in 62 games over a year and a half, winning the Bundesliga title and the DFB-Pokal, before moving to Vfl Wolfsburg in January 2013, where he scored 21 goals and provided 17 assists in 88 games over two and a half seasons, winning the DFB-Pokal.
Perisic then moved to Serie A’s Inter Milan in 2015/16, where he spent six seasons on loan at Bayern Munich, scoring 55 goals and 49 assists in 254 appearances, winning the Serie A title and Coppa Italia with Antonio Conte’s side in 2020/21, and the Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League and DFB-Pokal treble with Bayern Munich in 2019/20, scoring eight goals and providing 10 assists in 35 games.
Perisic then moved to Tottenham for the 2022/23 season under Antonio Conte, where he scored one goal and provided 12 assists in 44 games as a left-back last season before being sidelined since September with a cruciate ligament injury after six games and two assists this season.
Perisic has been capped at every level of the Croatian national team, starting with the U17s in 2005 and making his senior debut against Georgia on 26 March 2011, and has scored 33 goals and provided 30 assists in 129 appearances for his country, helping them to Euro 2012, World Cup Brazil 2014, runners-up at Euro 2016 and Russia 2018, and third places at Euro 2020 and Qatar 2022.
Meanwhile, Hajduk Split, where Perisic is pushing for a comeback, are looking to win the title for the first time in 19 seasons since their last victory in 2004/05 and are currently six points ahead of second-placed Rijeka with 41 points. Perisic, who is also keen to be part of his hometown team’s title triumph, will be reunited with his former club for the first time in 18 years if the move goes through.