Leeds United showed ‘concrete interest’ in now-Tottenham Hotspur target Arne Slot but he turned down the Premier League strugglers in favour of staying at Eredivisie champions Feyenoord.
As decisions go, this is one that aged like a bottle of the finest wood-fired whiskey.
While Leeds United were going down 3-1 at West Ham – Sam Allardyce’s hopes of a ‘great escape’ all-but extinguished at the home of his old employers – Arne Slot’s Feyenoord were putting the finishing touches on an outstanding campaign.
In their first outing since being confirmed as Eredivisie champions after a six-year wait, Feyenoord defeated FC Emmen 3-1 away from home, extending their lead at the top of the table to ten points with just one game remaining.
Will Arne Slot be Tottenham Hotspur’s new manager?
Slot, speaking at his Friday press conference, insisted that he would only walk away from Feyenoord if he received an ‘even more beautiful’ proposal from elsewhere.
Tottenham might not be quite as alluring these days as they were a couple of seasons back, but the chance to breath fresh life into a side who reached the Champions League final as recently as 2019 should still be far more tempting than throwing yourself right into the churning blades of a relegation battle.
“In February, there was concrete interest from Leeds United,” explains Dennis te Kloese, the Feyenoord director speaking to ESPN.
“But we and Arne said, ‘no’ to that. Arne did not want to go to Leeds, and I think that was a very good decision.”
Te Kloese insists that, so far, there has been ‘no request from Tottenham’ for a man who could have snatched the Eredivisie title with AZ Alkmaar before the 2019/20 season was ended prematurely due to the COVID pandemic.
That could soon change, however.
‘No release clause’
TalkSPORT believe that, after negotiations with Julian Nagelsmann broke down and after Vincent Kompany signed a new deal at Burnley, 44-year-old Slot is now emerging as the frontrunner to replace Antonio Conte in a backside-scalding Spurs hotseat.
In an attempt to counter this, Feyenoord are expected to hand Slot a new deal. Though any terms are likely to be lower than those on offer in North London.
“We are more than satisfied with him,” Te Kloese adds. “And if there is interest in him, we will hear about it.
“He has a contract for two more years. And this summer, there is no release clause in his contract. So we can say no if we want.
“We have quite a good story here as well. Champions League next year. A lot of new players were signed last summer and they proved really good players in this team.
“And their contracts also run for quite some years to come.”
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