Tottenham’s move for Feyenoord manager Arne Slot fell by the wayside as the Dutch club refused to be moved on their determination to keep their manager.
That’s according to De Telegraaf journalist Marcel van der Kraan, who has explained how the proposed moved to Tottenham ending up collapsing.
Spurs appeared to have identified Slot as their number one candidate to replace Antonio Conte, who was sacked over two months ago.
Reports over the last week had indicated they were pressing ahead with a deal for the Dutch coach, seeking talks with Feyenoord and showing a willingness to pay his release clause.
Indeed, a report yesterday indicated that a deal was on the verge of being done after Slot had indicated, through his agents, that he wanted to make the move to the Premier League.
That was quickly retracted this morning when reports in the Netherlands stated that he would actually be staying, with Slot himself confirming as much.
That rapid turnaround caused plenty of confusion about what had happened overnight given it had seemed almost certain that Tottenham would be getting their new coach yesterday evening.
“Of course, it’s a very strange twist in the transfer story,” he said.
“Spurs have had contact with Pimenta, the Brazilian agent who took over from Mino Raiola for a fortnight. It was her who maintained all those contacts, Spurs did not deal with Slot directly.
“Pimenta indicated last week that, yes, he is open, and he wants the transfer now and he does want to take a few people from his staff with him so we will have to have a talk with Feyenoord to see what is possible and make a deal.
“But Feyenoord said no to that and made it clear ‘guys, listen up, this is our top coach. He is still with us, and we are holding him to his contract. If you really want him, then a huge ransom will have to be paid’.
“At first, they didn’t let it be known how much it would be and that was a big frustration. Tottenham wanted to know an amount but that wasn’t put on the table or shared through Pimenta either. That made talks with Feyenoord very complicated.
“Then the truth came out last night. After a whole day of talks, Slot finally opted to just extend his contract. That includes the best salary Feyenoord have ever offered a coach, maybe even the best ever in the Eredivisie.
“It also became clear that Tottenham would not pay the amount Feyenoord wanted for Slot, which was €20m. Feyenoord have spared no expense by doing everything possible to keep him. They played a very hard game but a simple one. He is our coach; he’s stuck with us, and he can’t just leave.
“Maybe he (Slot) thought ‘well if you see what I’ve done for the club Feyenoord will cooperate’ but they made it clear they are in control, not him or Tottenham Hotspur.”
