Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Ivan Perisic has re-signed for Hajduk Split on loan for the remainder of the season.
The 34-year-old came through the youth system of the Croatian club between 1995 and 2006, but he failed to make a single first-team appearance before embarking on a well-travelled European career.
Perisic turned out for Sochaux, KSV Roeselare, Club Brugge, Inter Milan, Wolfsburg, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan before joining Spurs on a free transfer in 2022, where he was a fundamental player in Antonio Conte's system.
Perisic provided 12 assists for his teammates in the 2022-23 season - more than any other Tottenham player - and also began the 2023-24 season in strong fashion with two assists from his first six games under Ange Postecoglou.
However, the Croatia international's career stalled when he suffered a devastating ACL injury in September, and he has not made another appearance for Tottenham since their 2-1 win over Sheffield United four months ago.
Perisic's injury was always anticipated to spell the end of his Tottenham career, as the versatile midfielder's contract is up in the summer, and he was expected to spend the next few months recovering before departing on a free transfer at the end of the season.
— HNK Hajduk Split (@hajduk) January 19, 2024
Instead, Hajduk Split - whose desire to re-sign the 34-year-old has been well-documented - have welcomed Perisic back to his homeland in January, in spite of the fact that he cannot take to the field again for another few months yet.
Nevertheless, there is supposedly optimism that Perisic will be able to turn out for Hajduk in the final weeks of the season, and a call-up to the Croatia squad for Euro 2024 has not been ruled out either.
Hajduk have confirmed that once Perisic's loan deal runs its course, an agreement is in place for the ex-Bayern man to sign a permanent one-year deal for the 2024-25 season, thus officially ending his time at Tottenham.
The midfielder bids farewell to the North London giants having made a half-century of appearances for the club since joining in 2022, scoring one goal and providing 14 assists in the process.
Perisic follows Eric Dier, Ashley Phillips, Alfie Devine, Matthew Craig, Sergio Reguilon, Japhet Tanganga and Djed Spence out of the Tottenham exit door on loan this month, while Hugo Lloris has left to join Los Angeles FC on a permanent deal.
Hajduk Split are top of the Croatian Football League table with 41 points from their opening 19 games, six points clear of HNK Rijeka - who have a game in hand - and seven above Dinamo Zagreb having played two more matches.
The league leaders are gunning for their 10th Croatian top-flight title this season, but their ninth and most recent crown came all the way back in the 2004-05 campaign.
Ben Knapton
