Arne Slot has been a huge success at Liverpool as of April 2025. He will have guided the Reds to just their second Premier League championship at the end of his debut season in English football.
He surprised many British football fans by coming to Anfield as a relatively unknown candidate in the summer of 2024, following stints as manager of Dutch teams Cambuur, AZ, and Feyenoord. He wasn’t a total unknown, though.
After all, the 46-year-old had consistently shown himself to be one of the most gifted managers on the European football scene, winning the KNVB Cup and Eredivisie with Feyenoord and reaching the UEFA Conference League final in 2022. Liverpool was therefore not the first Premier League team to think about hiring the Dutchman.
Arne Slot was almost appointed by Tottenham Hotspur, but Ange Postecoglou was chosen instead.
Tottenham Hotspur was searching for a new manager in April 2023 after Antonio Conte was fired with ten games remaining in the season. According to the Athletic, Spurs hired a third-party data analytics firm to evaluate each prospective manager’s playing style and ability to develop both teams and individual players. As a result, they came across two men: Slot and Ange Postecoglou.
By May, the Dutch coach was the front-runner for the role, and many people at Feyenoord and Tottenham believed a deal would be finalised. Slot did, however, issue a statement at the conclusion of the month announcing that he would be signing a new deal and remaining at Feyenoord. He gave the following explanation on why he turned Spurs down:
Because of the players we have, the facilities we have, the way we work here, and the way I work with my staff. The problem is that I still see the opportunities we have here, both now and in the future, to be difficult. I am looking forward to playing in the Champions League, something I have never done before either as a coach or as a player. The club is doing incredibly well. Based on the project, I felt that I wanted to work longer to see what results. Because after one or two successful seasons, you always go. However, where and what are you at the end of the day? You must occasionally value what you already have.
Dutch Journalist Claims Slot Did Not Reject Spurs
“Slot is now pretending that he pulled the plug”
Spaan stated that he was irritated by Slot’s remarks, which gave the impression that he was the one to end the talks with Spurs, in an April 2024 interview with Soccer News’ On the Hard Gras podcast. He said that Tottenham was the cause of the problem rather than the Feyenoord manager’s choice.
In fact, it appears that the English team was unwilling to spend enough money to persuade Feyenoord director Dennis te Kloese to allow the head coach to leave, in typical Daniel Levy way. In light of this, Spaan asserted that Slot has now made three false statements regarding declining Spurs’ offer, stating:
He has stated so three times, but Spurs have ceased to engage in negotiations. Dennis te Kloese believed the offer was worthless.
“Now, Slot is acting as though he disconnected the power, but it is just untrue. Simply put, Tottenham Hotspur no longer wanted to make payments.
The Athletic, which has now verified that Tottenham never formally offered Slot the job, supports this version of events to some extent. “Tottenham were clear that they had not offered Slot the job, and that he had therefore not turned it down,” Jack Pitt-Brooke clarified.
Te Kloese downplayed the notion that formal negotiations between the two clubs ever took place, which further muddies the waters. Nevertheless, Pitt-Brooke stated: “Clearly, the talks between intermediaries were sufficiently promising for some people at both clubs to believe that Slot would ultimately be on his way to north London.”
In either case, Liverpool gains when Spurs lose. In his first season with the Reds, Slot will have led them to a League Cup final and won the Premier League.
Tottenham chose Postecoglou, and although his tenure in north London began well, 2024–2025 has been a really dismal year. With Spurs playing Bodo/Glimt in the May semi-finals, the only thing that seems to be keeping the Australian in his position is the possibility of winning the Europa League. However, it now appears that he will be fired at the conclusion of the season, regardless of any trophy success.
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