Last year’s Premier League table could have looked very different had the Dutchman followed through on talks with Tottenham two years ago
Arne Slot has revealed he nearly went to Tottenham in 2023
Arne Slot has revealed he nearly went to Tottenham in 2023 (PA Wire)
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Arne Slot has revealed his family were the reason he did not become Tottenham manager and that he would have “loved” to have gone to Spurs when they wanted him in 2023.
The Dutchman had talks with Tottenham in 2023, when he was still at Feyenoord and after they had sacked Antonio Conte and before they appointed Ange Postecoglou.
But Slot ended up getting a new contract and staying at Feyenoord for another year before moving to Liverpool in 2024, where he won the Premier League title last season, as Spurs finished 17th.
The Liverpool head coach told the Dutch author Mikos Gouka, in his biography “Arne Slot: The New Era”: “The fact I didn’t go to Spurs was 99 percent a family decision. We talked a lot and I told my kids it would be great to come and visit me in London during the school holidays, though my daughter said she might want to go do things with her friends sometimes.
“I’d have loved to have gone to Spurs, because who goes straight from Feyenoord to Tottenham, but when Liverpool approached me last season it was very different.”
Slot also revealed that his plan to get even more from Mohamed Salah involved praising him dozens of times before saying anything else.
The Egyptian scored 29 Premier League goals and got a further 18 assists in his first season under Slot, winning the PFA Player of the Year award.
And the Dutchman said: “Of course I’m not stupid. It’s not like I held a meeting and told him and everyone else on the team they had to defend more.
“I started by complimenting Mo about 50 times and then I played him some videos showing which areas he could do better in. He agreed with this straight away.”