Feyenoord director Dennis te Kloese has revealed that Tottenham are yet to make an approach for highly-rated manager Arne Slot. Te Kloese has also claimed that he has turned down an offer from Spurs to become their new director of football. Tottenham are in crisis at the moment with Daniel Levy no closer to finding Antonio Conte’s permanent successor, while the club are without a director of football after Fabio Paratici resigned following his ban from the sport. Xabi Alonso has already turned down the manager’s job and while early frontrunner Julian Nagelsmann is back in talks, the former Bayern Munich boss wants a new sporting director to be found first.
Slot has also emerged as one of the favourites to takeover in north London following a highly-impressive campaign where he has led Feyenoord to the Eredivisie title, losing just one league game so far. The 44-year-old has refused to comment on the links to Tottenham but has admitted that he would like to manage in the Premier League one day, with Leeds, Crystal Palace and West Ham also taking an interest in the Dutchman. However, Te Kloese has told ESPN that: ‘There has been no request from Tottenham,’ to sign Slot. He went on to say that in February there was concrete interest from Leeds United, but both he and Slot said no to that. Te Kloese also added that Slot has a contract for two more years and this summer there is no release-clause in his contract, so they can say no if they want.
Additionally, Te Kloese claims he himself has rejected the chance to move to Tottenham, saying: ‘It’s not an option right now. I said “no” and I also don’t have any interest. I’ve made the choice to work for Feyenoord and that is still a great honour. We have made really good steps last year and then to say, “Let’s hear what I can do for other clubs”, is not an option for me. I want to be very clear: It will not happen.’
This is all a huge blow for Spurs fans who have endured a nightmare season, and following the defeat to Brentford on Saturday, they could well fail to qualify for any European competition for the first time in 13 years. The Lilywhites are eighth in the table, unable to catch Brighton in sixth and a point behind Aston Villa in seventh with just one game of the season remaining.