Chelsea elected to appoint Mauricio Pochettino in the summer over Feyenoord manager Arne Slot as they “didn’t want another (Graham) Potter type” at the club.
That’s according to journalist Mikos Gouka, who says the Dutch coach was even on a private flight organised by Chelsea owner Todd Boehly at one point.
Slot has found himself heavily linked with a move to the Premier League over the last two years, with Leeds United first chasing his signature in 2022.
He eventually turned that down and led Feyenoord to the Eredivisie title last season instead, further enhancing his already growing reputation in the Netherlands.
That produced more interest in him in the summer, when the Premier League came calling once more and both Tottenham and Chelsea, who were both on the hunt for new long-term appointments at the time, were credited with an interest.
Slot never got either job, though, with Tottenham instead going for Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou and Chelsea appointing Mauricio Pochettino, despite his previous association with Spurs.
And, according to Gouka, the decision was made to go with the Argentine because he had the big-name status compared to the lesser-known Slot.
“His departure was quite close,” he said when discussing the Feyenoord boss.
“There was a lot of interest from England. Tottenham were really close, and he was on the private jet of Todd Boehly.
“Only Chelsea didn’t want another Graham Potter type. They chose Mauricio Pochettino, a big name.”
