Ivan Perisic is enjoying the best spell of his Inter career, a report in the Italian media suggested today.

The Croatian was one of the Nerazzurri’s key performers on Sunday as Inter went top of Serie A with a 3-1 win over Lazio.

Gazzetta dello Sport reported Antonio Conte has full faith in Perisic now, having initially discarded him upon his arrival at Inter in the summer of 2019.

“Those who are prepared to take a step back show their intelligence, and that’s what Conte has done,” Francesco Fontana reported.

“Conte doesn’t ask Perisic to score a hat-trick every match or even to put in man of the match performances every other week.

“He wants Perisic to give Inter balance and tactical intelligence, now that the team appear to have found their definitive shape.

“Perisic feels more important than perhaps ever before at Inter and seems like a new player.”

Conte gave the green light for Perisic to join Bayern Munich on loan in 2019 after deciding during pre-season that the former Wolfsburg midfielder wasn’t suited to his 3-5-2 system.

Bayern opted not to exercise their €20 million option to buy last summer and sent the now 31-year-old back to Italy, where he has become an unexpected protagonist in recent weeks.

Perisic has started 16 games in all competitions this season, with three coming in Inter’s last three Serie A matches, scoring three goals in 30 appearances overall.

Conte praised his defensive performance against Lazio on Sunday and seems tempted to start Perisic again in the upcoming Derby della Madonnina against AC Milan.

“It’s never too late for anyone to be a key player in this Inter side,” Gazzetta concluded.