Image Credits: Imago Images
John Heitinga’s swift exit from Tottenham has raised eyebrows when it was confirmed earlier this month.
The former Liverpool coach had only recently arrived in north London, where he was seen as a smart addition to the backroom staff after a shaky spell at Ajax and a title-winning season at Anfield. Yet, barely months after putting pen to paper, the Dutchman departed in the middle of February after Thomas Frank was sacked.
It certainly came as a bit of a surprise for Reds fans, with some sections of the fanbase lamenting the fact that he is no longer at Arne Slot’s side after such an impressive debut campaign on Merseyside.
But it an interesting development, Heitinga’s agent, Rob Jansen, revealed that Tottenham Hotspur had wanted his client to continue at the club.
Jansen joined journalist Michel Van Egmond and former Dutch players Wim Kieft and René van der Gijp on the KieftJansenEgmondGijp podcast (via FCUpdates), with Jansen revealing:
“He was allowed to stay. They even asked him to stay. All other coaches, all Scandinavian, left. And after three weeks, they told him: ‘Please stay and see out your contract here.’ That’s quite an achievement for someone who worked there for three weeks,” he said.
“But he said: ‘Yes, but now Igor Tudor, a Croatian coach, is coming with a whole staff for three or four months’. That man is always hired for emergency jobs.”
“That almost never works. Why they did that is a mystery to me. And then another coach will come in. So, you can leave twice. That new coach will also come in with 45 people. He said, ‘This is pointless, Rob. I have to leave now’.”
In the end, Heitinga’s short spell in north London says more about Tottenham’s constant state of flux than it did about his ability as a coach.
If anything, walking away on his own terms only reinforces the feeling that he is backing himself for a role where there is a clearer plan, more stability and a club truly aligned with his ideas – and perhaps a return to Anfield is not too far away either.
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