Tottenham have been unable to agree a compensation package with Feyenoord for Arne Slot, leaving the manager to announce that he will stay at the Dutch club.
Slot was interested in the chance to move to Spurs but the fact his contract contained no release clause this summer meant that negotiations between the clubs – via intermediaries – were always likely to be difficult. Slot’s deal, which runs until 2025, does have a buyout option in the summer of 2024.
It meant that Feyenoord, who have not wanted to lose Slot after the way that he has transformed their fortunes since his arrival in 2021, were in a strong position when Spurs put the feelers out; they could set a high asking price. Slot’s agent, Rafaela Pimenta, met the Feyenoord general manager, Dennis te Kloese, on Wednesday and, on Thursday morning, Slot announced that he wanted to remain at the club, to build on the Eredivisie title glory of this season, their first such triumph since 2017. He is set for a pay rise.
“I have been hearing a lot of rumours going around about other clubs’ interest in me,” Slot said. “Although I am thankful [for that], my wish is to stay at Feyenoord and continue working on what we created last year. There is not – and there has not been – transfer conversation and yesterday’s meeting was exclusively for an extension. All talks with the club have always been only in that sense. I’m looking forward to next season with Feyenoord.”
Slot’s line about the exclusive contract extension element led to raised eyebrows. At Spurs, as at many Premier League clubs when there is a managerial vacancy, they have grown used to managers leveraging the situation to improve their existing terms. Vincent Kompany signed a new five-year deal at Burnley at the beginning of the month after interest from Spurs and Chelsea.
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The reality was that Slot had two choices. He could have tried to force the move, going to war with Feyenoord and torching his popularity with the club’s fans – 150,000 of whom sang his name during the wild title celebration party.
Or he could improve his situation at a club on the up, look forward to a Champions League campaign and own the narrative about his commitment, further endearing himself to the supporters. Slot, whose children are settled at school in the Netherlands, chose the latter.
It should be noted that he never had an offer from Spurs to turn down; it did not get that far.
Slot is in demand, with champions in influential places. But Feyenoord have made it plain that Premier League clubs cannot simply walk in and take him. They blocked a move for him from Leeds in February; the Yorkshire club had wanted him to replace Jesse Marsch.
And so Spurs continue the hunt for a permanent successor to Antonio Conte, who departed on 26 March – a mission being led by the chairman, Daniel Levy, in the absence of a sporting director; Fabio Paratici resigned on 21 April. Levy must find a replacement for him.
The club have insisted that Julian Nagelsmann, sacked by Bayern Munich on 24 March, is not an option for them. They have also indicated that they have not had or do not have a No 1 target, rather a broader list of names.
They include Rúben Amorim, whose contract at Sporting has a €15m (£13m) buyout clause this summer; Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou; Roberto De Zerbi of Brighton; and Luis Enrique, the former Barcelona and Spain manager. It is considered unlikely that De Zerbi would leave Brighton for Spurs.
Spurs will finish the season under a caretaker manager, Ryan Mason, at Leeds on Sunday, seeking a result to leapfrog Aston Villa into seventh place to qualify for the Europa Conference League. Villa, who host Brighton, are one point better off. The clubs have the same goal difference.
