New Tottenham Hotspur signing Ivan Perisic reached out to club legend Luka Modric before completing his move earlier this summer.
The experienced wing-back ended his seven-year spell with Inter Milan in June and made sure to get in touch with his international teammate for some advice on the move to north London - while also getting the blessing for his shirt number. Perisic, who's played alongside Modric 92 times for Croatia, revealed: "The first time I spoke with the manager, I also called Luka later.
"I said to him that there is a possibility that I might come to his ex-club and he said to me all of the positive things about the club. He used to play at the old stadium and he used to train on the old training camp but everything is new here now, everything is much better and much more modern.
"We're going to wear the same number (14). I asked him for his permission and he said, 'Okay, you can take it', and yeah it was fun." Before putting pen to paper on a two-year contract, Perisic also consulted with other ex-Spurs players and fellow Croats in Vedran Corluka, Niko Kranjcar and Stipe Pletikosa.
The 33-year-old's transfer was a few months in the making, as his former manager at Inter, Antonio Conte, got in touch well before Totteham's place in next season's Champions League was confirmed, something which ultimately proved to be a deciding factor in the move.
"I think our first contact was in March," Perisic told Sky Sports. "And the second one was in April when I think they won against Arsenal, and it was obvious that maybe they're going to reach the Champions League.
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"I always wanted to play in the Champions League and my wish was also to try to come to the Premier League. When they reached the Champions League, we spoke and the deal was done in two days, and it was much easier."
Perisic joins Spurs off the back of one of his best individual seasons in a senior career spanning 15 years across four countries. The ex- Borussia Dortmund, Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich ace has winners' medals from Serie A, the Bundesliga and Champions League in his cabinet and wants to add more at Tottenham.
"I'm ready," Perisic declared. "I know it's going to be tough. I've followed the Premier League for many years. I know the tempo is amazing, but like I said, I'm ready and I was working hard during the last season and I was preparing myself to come here and to be competitive here."
Life for Perisic in the Premier League begins on Saturday, as Spurs travel to face Southampton at 3pm.
