Reporter Park Jae-ho of Star News | 2023.05.20 12:42
As the new manager of Son Heung-min (30, Tottenham), Arne Slot (44) is likely to become the manager of Feyenoord. On the 20th (Korea time), Britain’s ‘Sky Sports’ reported that “Feyenoord are worried about losing their manager to Tottenham this summer.” “Slot is the most likely candidate for Tottenham’s current vacant manager. Feyenoord fans are worried that Slot will go to North London.”
Dutch coach Slott started his coaching career in 2019 as manager of Alkmaar. From the first season in charge, he competed for the championship with Ajax and was recognized for his leadership. In December 2020, he took over as manager of Feyenoord. In the 2021-2022 season, it reached the finals of the European Football Federation (UEFA) Europa Conference League (UECL) and was unfortunately defeated by AS Roma led by coach Jose Mourinho and came second. This season, despite worse finances than rivals Ajax and Eindhoven, they focused on rebuilding the team and led Feyenoord to their first league title in two years.
Feyenoord fans have no choice but to be disappointed. Sky Sports said, “Feyenoord are trying to hold on to manager Slot. They are ready to double the current salary of 4 million euros (about 5.7 billion won).”
However, it seems that Slott’s mind has already turned to Tottenham. This is because he gave a hint about the transfer rumor in the press conference held after the 33rd round of the league match against FC. When asked about the transfer rumours, manager Slot seemed to draw a line, saying, “Now is not the time to talk about it. We are here for a game.”
However, he soon revealed his true intentions. “Every manager has challenges and ambitions, like when I came to Feyenoord from Alkmaar two years ago,” said Slott. “I voted and I chose the challenge. It gave me the privilege to say that we are Dutch champions.” His message was clear. “My next step is not to go to another team in the Netherlands. Normally, at the moment, I go abroad,” said Slott. There are teams. There are many countries I want to go to, but it is clear that the EPL is the biggest league in the world.” The media reported that Slott stood up after the press conference and laughed and joked, “See you in London.”
The ‘challenge’ and ‘difficult situation’ mentioned by manager Slot fits with Tottenham’s current situation. Tottenham are currently 7th in the English Premier League (EPL). In particular, the fact that they managed to rebuild the team even when funding was not enough during the time of Alkmaar and Feyenoord is the reason why Tottenham pay more attention. Regarding the content of Slot’s interview, Britain’s ‘Football London’ interpreted that “Slot gives a clear message to the chairman of Tottenham, Daniel Levy.” “Slot, who is closely linked with Tottenham, suggested that he would leave the Netherlands,” he said.
If he takes over as Tottenham manager, his collaboration with Son Heung-min will also draw attention. As Son Heung-min is currently the main striker, it is expected that he will receive moderation from the slot manager.
In the meantime, ‘Sky Sports’ confirmed that manager Julian Nagelsmann, who had been linked to Tottenham for a while, was completely banned from the management candidate position. The media explained, “Director Nagelsmann is respected by Tottenham’s dignitaries, but he is not the right person for them at the moment.”
At the same time, he mentioned Celtic’s Angers Postecoglu, Brighton’s Roberto De Gerbi, Fulham’s Marco Silva, and Brentford’s Thomas Frank as coaches Tottenham are currently watching with interest.
[저작권자 @머니투데이, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
