Next Liverpool manager: Arne Slot accused of 'LYING' over Spurs approach

Arne Slot is shortly expected to be announced as the new Liverpool head coach, replacing Jurgen Klopp, who is to stand down as manager at the end of the season. 

Slot, 45, has been recruited from Feyenoord following an exhaustive search carried out by the Liverpool hierarchy. 

It was reported over the weekend that Feyenoord and Liverpool had been locked in negotiations over the terms of Slot’s departure with the Dutchman now expected to become the fourth-most expensive coaching appointment in history.

It could have been all very different, however, had Tottenham pressed on with plans to appoint Slot last summer. 

Spurs were interested in adding the then-reigning Eredivisie champion as their new coach but terms couldn’t be reached with Feyenoord over his departure after talks through third parties. 

Slot’s Feyenoord contract DID contain a release clause, however it would only have become valid in 2024, which meant the Rotterdam were free to dictate terms to interested clubs last year. 

The North London side declined to continue on with formal talks and appointed Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou instead. 

Slot ended up signing a new deal at De Kuip stretching until 2026, with the 2024 release clause removed, meaning Liverpool have had to pay big in order to secure their man. 

Slot claimed he turned down Spurs

When it became apparent that Spurs wouldn’t be getting Slot, the Feyenoord boss told the media that it was his decision to remain in charge for at least another season. 

“The decisive factor was playing the Champions League, the fantastic work with the staff and the players, the fact that I’m having a great time privately and being able to build on the past two seasons,” he said in quotes carried by NOS. 

However those claims have now been refuted by veteran Dutch football pundit Henk Spaan, who accused the incoming Liverpool coach of ‘lying’ over his role in the Spurs move breaking down. 

"He told that (lie) three times, but Spurs stopped negotiating,” Spaan told the Hard Gras podcast. 

“Dennis te Kloese (Feyenoord general manager) thought it was a worthless offer. Slot is now acting as if he pulled the plug, but that is simply not the case. Tottenham Hotspur just didn't want to pay more." 

Liverpool will pay close to £10m for Slot and up to two members of his Feyenoord backroom team. 

An attempt meanwhile on the part of Slot to add the Shakhtar Donetsk coach Marino Pusic to his Anfield boot room is reported by the Athletic to have failed.