Tottenham is in the process of appointing a new manager after parting ways with Ange Postecoglou last week, and Brentford's Thomas Frank is the club's No.1 choice to take over.
Spurs are confident that a deal will be wrapped up this week after approaching Brentford for Frank, who has a $13.5 million release clause in his contract at the Gtech Community Stadium.
But had Tottenham managed to convince Arne Slot to move to North London two years ago, the club might not have found itself looking for a new manager at all considering how well the Dutchman has settled in on Merseyside.
Spurs talked to Slot in 2023, when the club was looking for a replacement for Antonio Conte, but he turned the job down in favor of remaining at Feyenoord for another season.
Explaining his decision at the time, Slot suggested that he was influenced by wanting to manage Feyenoord in the 2023-24 Champions League.
“The decisive factor was playing the Champions League,” Slot said. “The fantastic work with the staff and the players, the fact that I’m having a great time privately and being able to build on the past two seasons.
“I didn’t know what would happen [with Tottenham]. I weighed everything up, including whether the people who work with me would want to come with me."
However, addressing Spurs' interest in him again when speaking earlier this year, Slot said that his decision to snub the job was actually heavily influenced by his family.
"Not going to Spurs was 99 per cent a family decision," Slot said. "I even told my kids they could easily visit me in London during the school holidays. My daughter said that during the school holidays, she wanted to spend time with her friends.
Thomas Frank is likely to become Tottenham's new manager
Thomas Frank is likely to become Tottenham's new manager (Image: 2024 Getty Images)
"I thought moving directly from Feyenoord to Spurs was a huge deal — because who goes from Feyenoord straight to Tottenham? At Spurs and another club — I won’t mention the name myself — I had to give a presentation, explain my tactical approach, and compete against other coaches."
Slot added: "When Liverpool came along last season, everything was completely different. Nothing surpasses Liverpool. I did tell my agent, Rafaella Pimenta, that I wanted to know whether I was the only candidate. If that hadn’t been the case, I don’t know if I would have gone through with it.
"Liverpool acted completely differently. Sporting director Richard Hughes came to visit me and I was surprised by how much he already knew about me.
"A few months earlier, (technical director) Julian Ward had called me. I knew him from the time when he was responsible for Liverpool’s loaned players.
"He told me he was doing a tour around Europe, visiting clubs. He asked if he could come and watch me. Later, I realized that his visit served a different purpose. It shows how meticulous Liverpool is in their approach."