Ex-Feyenoord player happy Arne Slot turned down Spurs for 'bigger club' Liverpool

Former Feyenoord midfielder Cole Bassett, who played under new Liverpool boss Arne Slot, has revealed that he's pleased the Dutch coach snubbed Tottenham and waited for a move to a 'bigger club'. 

Slot has been chosen as the successor to legendary Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp for the 2024/25 season, arriving after an impressive spell in the Netherlands.

The 45-year-old had shone at AZ Alkmaar before a move to Feyenoord, where he reached the Europa Conference League final in his first season before winning the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup in following campaigns.

Known for his high-intensity and attacking football, Liverpool were not the first club to show significant interest in Slot.

Last summer, prior to their appointment of Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham were heavily linked with a move for the Feyenoord coach, but he rejected their advances in favour of staying in Rotterdam.

That decision has worked out pretty well for the new Liverpool head coach and his former player Bassett is pleased to see him move to an even 'bigger club' than Spurs.

COLE BASSETT PLEASED FOR FORMER MANAGER ARNE SLOT

Speaking to Mirror Sport, Bassett waxed lyrical about his former coach Slot, admitting that he is happy to see him earn a deserved move to Anfield.

"I thought he was going to go to Spurs last year," said Bassett. "But I’m glad he maybe waited it out a bit, and now he’s got an even bigger club per se with his move.

"It’s tough that he’s coming in after what Klopp he did there, but I’m curious to see how he does. I think he’ll do really well. But we’ll see how that goes."

Bassett, who spent a brief spell on loan at Feyenoord in 2022, even revealed that Slot used to show players videos of Liverpool to help them improve.

"He [Slot] introduced quite a few things to me and made me understand football a lot better," admitted Bassett. "I’ve seen little things his teams have done, and I know what it takes to play at a top level. The funny thing is, he used to show us clips of Liverpool all the time.

"Liverpool were the one team he used to emphasise to us that if we wanted to play at the top level, then this is what you had to do. And now he’s ended up there, so I think it’s pretty special for him.

"I wasn’t surprised he’s ended up at a big club like Liverpool. I never knew whether Liverpool was his team or anything but it’s funny looking back at it now.

"He would show clips of Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz sprinting back defensively, and he’d be like ‘if you want to be at a top club, this is what you have to do.'"

While Liverpool will have to adapt to life without Klopp in the coming years, it's handy to have a manager well versed in how the Reds are used to playing.