Tottenham Hotspur feel that Arne Slot used their interest in him in order to land a bumper contract at Feyenoord.
Arne Slot is staying at Feyenoord and the Tottenham Hotspur hierarchy aren’t too impressed with how things have played out.
That is according to Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett, who has been speaking about this stunning development in Tottenham’s managerial hunt.
Slot looked to be closing in on the Tottenham job and rumours suggested that he wanted the move to North London.
However, Slot today came out and committed his future to Feyenoord, making it clear that he is staying in Rotterdam.
That leaves Tottenham’s managerial pursuit in an absolute mess with the next target unclear.
Dorsett has now suggested that it was actually Tottenham who walked away from a potential deal for Slot.
Spurs were being quoted around £10million for Slot and another £5million-plus for his backroom staff – a far cry from the £5million buyout clause in his contract, which can be activated next summer.
Tottenham then felt that they were being used by Slot to land a new deal at Feyenoord with the Spurs hierarch unimpressed.
Dorsett added that there is ‘bad blood’ on both sides of this situation now, with Tottenham far from happy.
“My understand is that it was actually Spurs who decided to walk away from Arne Slot and any potential deal with him because of disagreements about the terms of his buyout clause,” said Dorsett.
“It’s my understanding that there were significant discussions with intermediaries, and that brought out the details of a £5million buyout clause for Arne Slot at Feyenoord, but crucially that £5million buyout clause written into his contract doesn’t come into effect until next summer, so the price that Feyenoord wanted to charge for any club who takes Arne Slot at this time was up for debate.”
“Those intermediaries which Spurs were using quoted £10million – double that buyout clause – if Spurs wanted to take Arne Slot and more than £5million extra if they wanted to take Slot’s backroom staff as well. It was at that point that Tottenham felt they were being used and they decided to walk away from a deal.”
“The feeling I’m being told from the Spurs hierarchy is that they were being used by Arne Slot and his representatives to try and get an improved contract at Feyenoord,” he added.
Who can Tottenham turn to now after Arne Slot decision?
Whether it was Slot who chose to stay at Feyenoord or Tottenham who decided to back away, it doesn’t really matter – the Dutchman won’t be heading to Spurs.
Daniel Levy and co must now pivot quickly to a new top target; this can’t become a re-run of the 2021 chaos.
Out-of-work duo Brendan Rodgers and Graham Potter are likely to come into the conversation given their Premier League experience.
There wouldn’t be any exorbitant compensation for Rodgers or Potter, but whether Tottenham fans would accept them is another matter.
Other in-work managers will be eyed up though, such Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou and Sporting’s Ruben Amorim.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank is another shout, but it’s unlikely that Brighton and Hove Albion’s Roberto De Zerbi would make the move.
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