Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic may have become a top transfer target for Manchester United this summer, but one worrying stat from last season suggests his signing would be a big mistake.
Arguably United’s biggest issue as they slumped to 6th place last season was their failure to kill off small teams, particularly at home as they often dominated possession but couldn’t take their chances.
Jose Mourinho will be keen to remedy that this summer by moving for big-name signings in attack, with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Romelu Lukaku and Alvaro Morata all being linked so far.
There has also been a lot of talk about Perisic, however, with the Red Devils keen to poach him from Inter and with the player himself also pushing for a move to Old Trafford.
However, stats from WhoScored.com show that the Croatia international actually boasted the worst conversion rate of any player to score ten goals or more in Serie A last season – just 10.6%.
The 28-year-old scored 11 times in 36 league appearances for Inter, but those came from an astonishing 104 shots in total.
Man Utd home form 2016/17
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By contrast, United’s first target Griezmann netted 16 La Liga goals from just 88 shots last season, while another rumoured target, Anderson Talisca, scored 13 from 89 shots with Besiktas.
If United are looking to be more clinical next season in order to turn those draws into wins, then Perisic is surely not the answer to their woes.
He would seemingly fit in perfectly among all the other wasteful players at United, so Mourinho clearly has a type if his interest in the former Wolfsburg man is strong.
Gary Neville said earlier this week that putting more teams to bed at Old Trafford next season would be key for Mourinho if he hopes to bring the title to United next season.
United finished 24 points behind champions Chelsea in 2016/17, and scored 31 fewer goals than the Blues, with their tally of 54 the lowest of any team in the top seven.
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