Inter promise Perisic they will match Manchester United

Having failed to finish inside the top three since 2010/11 due to a period of complete Serie A domination by Juventus, Inter Milan have begun a resurrection in their domestic form in hopes of becoming the European giants they once were.

Considered a building-block in Inter's comeback, Ivan Perisic is looking increasingly likely to remain at San Siro. Jose Mourinho's efforts to sign the Croat last summer never materialised and Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio has made doubly sure that European rivals are discouraged from attempting to lure away their star striker.

Perisic scored 11 times in 36 Serie A appearances last season before the speculation regarding his future surfaced in the transfer window. Rumours which were put to bed when the striker penned a new contract to keep him at San Siro until 2022. The new deal possesses no release clause, a common aspect in many footballers' contracts.

'Perisic still had a few years on his contract', Ausilio said. 'Nobody ever denied that this offer arrived from Manchester United, but we have been working to convince him to stay at Inter and that our project could be just as successful as Manchester'.

The 28-year-old was convinced by Inter to sign the deal when they promised they were going to close the gap on Manchester United and other top European clubs. 

'The new contract was a consequence of that. There is no release clause because we did not intend to propose one, nor was it requested by his entourage', Ausilio concluded.