Arne Slot has revealed that it wasn’t just Tottenham who he turned down before joining Liverpool last summer. Another Premier League side also made a move to bring him to England from Feyenoord.
“Not going to Spurs was 99 per cent a family decision,” he said after winning the league title at Liverpool in his debut campaign. “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.
“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.”
Instead, Slot remained patient and stuck with Feyenoord for longer than he might have. And when Liverpool came in for him, it was a different reaction to the other clubs in England who had tried to tempt him.
“When Liverpool came along last season, everything was completely different,” Slot, who was speaking to Dutch outlets including PZC, continued. “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.
(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
“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.”
This weekend, Liverpool will get hold of the Premier League trophy in front of fans for the first time. Virgil van Dijk will be handed the trophy by Reds legend Alan Hansen.
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“There’s a lot of — how do you call it? — I won’t say dreaming because it will be a reality but I can picture it and it will be a very emotional day,” Van Dijk told reporters at Stamford Bridge earlier this month.
“My family will be there, my mum, my wife, my kids. But until we get there, we must keep focusing on the games ahead of us and try to win the last three games in front of us.
“Hopefully [it will be] even better than what we had after the Champions League final. I already encouraged everyone to wear red in the last game and keep doing that for the rest of the season because everyone saw how amazing it was.”
Liverpool.com says: Slot has been a revelation this season. Taking over from Jurgen Klopp so seamlessly was definitely not as simple as he has made it look. Now, the challenge is to kick on again.
