Arne Slot finally breaks silence on Leeds United managerial links
Feyenoord manager Arne Slot has admitted he turned down Leeds United as he didn’t think it was right time to leave the Dutch club mid-season.
The well-renowned Dutch coach was one of a number of candidates who the Whites tried and failed to convince to replace Jesse Marsch after the American was sacked on 6 February.
Slot, 44, didn’t want to leave Feyenoord at the time with the club currently sitting top of Dutch Eredivisie table, eight points clear of their closest rivals Ajax and on course to claim their 16th league title.
And speaking to ESPN [19 April], Slot admitted that Leeds United is a nice club but never seemed willing to leave Feyenoord at such a crucial stage in the season.
He said: “I think Leeds is a very nice club.
“The moment in the middle of the season, where you still have so much to play for at Feyenoord, I didn’t think that was a good time to leave for England.
“Then there is also a huge challenge at Feyenoord. It was also much better from a family point of view to stay here for a while.
“The Premier League is of course the number one competition in Europe. Although I also follow developments in Italy with great interest.
“I also think it is very valuable to leave somewhere in a positive way. Giovanni van Bronckhorst, for example, became champion here, but a year later his life no longer looked so nice.”
Will return
Slot has garnered great admiration and praise for the tremendous work he’s done with Feyenoord this season, and he will certainly be on the list of some top clubs this summer, with fellow Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur currently looking at him to fill their current managerial void.
Providing Leeds United remain in the Premier League for next season, the Whites will certainly be returning to hire the Dutch coach but given the positions of other clubs potentially interested, it seems incredibly unlikely Slot would choose Elland Road, and he may well remain at Feyenoord given the club will be playing Champions League football.
It is important the club is realistic in their managerial approaches this summer. Slot is such an attractive proposition but the club cannot afford another saga they had before hiring Javi Gracia.
Regardless of whether they remain in the English top flight or stay, Victor Orta and the rest of the Leeds United board will need to make a firm decision as to where they’d like the club to go and hiring the right candidate will go along way in achieving those ambitions.
Slot would be a brilliant and attractive appointment but it’s unrealistic given his increasing stock in the European game. The Whites can only dream.
In other Leeds United news, a senior player is also on his way to sealing a permanent exit from the club with an offer of £13.2million to be accepted in the coming weeks.