Feyenoord’s Slot latest Dutch coach on Premier League radar

ROTTERDAM, May 16 (Reuters) – After securing the Dutch league title with Feyenoord at the weekend, manager Arne Slot is the latest rising Dutch manager to be linked with a potential move to the Premier League.

Slot was widely lauded for the convincing way in which Feyenoord clinched only their second league title in two decades but refused to commit to the Rotterdam club despite qualifying for the Champions League.

Instead, Slot told reporters that amid ecstatic celebrations in Rotterdam on Monday, which saw more than 100,000 people celebrating the club’s success in the port city, it wasn’t the right time to talk about his future.

Supporters thronging downtown shouted his name and urged him to stay.

“It is known that I have two more years on my contract and there is nothing more for me to say at the moment,” said Slot as speculation about a possible move to England mounted, as did his compatriot Erik ten Hag , who moved to England Manchester United won the title with Ajax Amsterdam last year.

British media reports have linked Slot with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, who have still not finalized Antonio Conte’s successor since their split with the Italy manager in March.

Slot revolutionized Feyenoord’s playing style in his two seasons at the club, adopting a high-intensity attacking style that made purists purrs purists and ensured domestic dominance.

The 44-year-old has had to rebuild the team this season, even after reaching the Europa Conference League final last season when 16 players left the team to even the tally.

It meant giving young players a chance and he didn’t hesitate to do so as a bevy of new talent emerged, such as Lutsharel Geertruida and Mats Wieffer, who both earned their first caps for the Netherlands this year.

Slot was an experienced midfielder in his career but always wanted to be a coach, with his first big job at AZ Alkmaar, first under John van den Brom, and then as head coach from 2019.

“What was nice for me is that he always thought offensively,” said Van den Brom.

Feyenoord icon Willem van Hanegem this week urged the manager to make his intentions clear straight away, but Giovanni van Bronckhorst, the last Feyenoord coach to win the league in 2017, said Slot would take his time making a decision.

“That’s the kind of person he is, he’ll make a sensible decision,” said Van Bronckhorst.

writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Edited by Christian Radnedge

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