Liverpool boss Arne Slot admits he would have loved to manage Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur have barely had any long-term stability with its first team managers for the last several years. Since Mauricio Pochettino’s departure back in November 2019, 8 different head-coaches have sat on the hot seat at the Spurs bench.
Among these 8 managers have also been some of the biggest names in Europe, including Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte. Meanwhile, the Lilywhites have also not shied away from giving the reigns of the team to some very competent managers who were yet to get their names among the best of managers, like Nuno Espirito Santo, Ryan Mason, and Ange Postecoglou.
During these years, there could have been another manager on the Tottenham bench who has emerged as one of the most promising of head-coaches in Europe during the last few years. This is none other than the current Liverpool boss Arne Slot, who has linked with Spurs back in 2023, after the North London side had sacked Conte and before they had appointed Postecoglou.
The Dutchman held talks with Spurs at that time, but ultimately ended up signing an extension with the Eredivisie side Feyenoord, the team he was coaching at that time.
The Dutchman highlights the main reason he did not take the job at Spurs
As per a report from Independent, the Liverpool head-coach opened up on why he did not end up joining Tottenham at that time as he talked to his biographer, Mikos Gouka, for his biography, titled: “Arne Slot: The New Era”.
The Dutch tactician made it clear that a move to Spurs was a highly attractive option for him, but he ended up not taking the role because of his family:
“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.”
Although it was not with Tottenham, Slot has had quite an introduction to English football. Having joined Liverpool last summer, he led his side to a Premier League title in the 2024-25 season. Meanwhile, Spurs themselves finished 17th in the league table in that campaign.
However, Postecoglou was still able to bring a piece of silverware to the club, as he led his Spurs side to a UEFA Europa League title. Now, Thomas Frank is showing encouraging signs in his early Tottenham career, and it remains to be seen whether he will be able to challenge Arne Slot to the Premier League title this season.
