Tottenham Hotspurs have reportedly considered Ange Postecoglou of Celtic their next manager after Feyenoord’s Arne Slot became the latest to opt out of the role. The club have gone through a torrid season in the Premier League in which they sacked Antonio Conte and Christian Stelleni from their managerial role. Spurs now sit eighth in the league standings and out of European football places ahead of the final round of games. Ryan Mason is currently in charge of the team but despite expressing his wish to be a permanent boss for his boyhood club, the club has turned to other options.
In search of a new manager, Tottenham have drawn a whole list of candidates for the job. After failing to lure Mauricio Pochettino back to the club and not getting either of Julian Nagelsmann, Luis Enrique, Vincent Kompany, Xabi Alonso and now Slot, Postecoglou was one of the few high-profile name remaining that came into consideration by the hierarchy. However, he is not the only one left in the discussion as Spurs continue to monitor other options to get their preferable manager for the upcoming season.
Slot Snubbed
Managing Feyenoord to their first Eredivisie title since the 2016/17 season by breaking the dominance of Ajax in the Netherlands, Arne Slot came into the wanted list of various top European clubs for managerial roles. The 44-year-old became a leading candidate this week to take over at Spurs and be the new face of the rebuild desperately needed at this moment. However, the club officials did not pursue him because of a disagreement about the terms of his buy-out clause. Instead, Slot signed a new contract extension for another season at Feyenoord.
The club said they did not have direct contact with the Dutchman which he himself confirmed in a statement on the matter. Slot had a clause in his contract that needed to be paid costing a little over $6m but it does not come into effect until next summer. So any appointment now would have cost double. Hence, the deal could not have materialized. It was also reported that Slot used the situation to get his new deal at Feyenoord quicker as he always wanted to stay.
Spurs hit similar roadblocks in approaching Nagelsmann after the ex-Bayern boss did not get assurances over the need for a sporting director while Luis Enrique’s appointment looks difficult for his demands despite chairman Daniel Levy regarding him highly. The others, Kompany and Alonso signed contract extensions at Burnley and Bayer Leverkusen respectively like Slot.
Celtic manager interest
Hence, Tottenham were forced to look elsewhere once again with Postecoglou in their radar now. The Australian has done a massive job at Celtic putting them back to the summit of Scottish football for back-to-back seasons. Additionally, he took the club back to the group stages of the Champions League last season after four years and also won the Scottish League Cup twice.
Postecoglou's attractive style of play could also be a factor for the interest after years of pragmatist football under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte. However, Celtic will be keen to hold onto their boss whose contract run downs this month and offer him a new deal. The 57-year-old has also made no intention of leaving his post seemingly enjoying his time in Glasgow, the one he might look to continue.
The problem for Tottenham to fill their vacant managerial role is their struggle to make the job attractive for the candidates. After the episode of Conte’s outburst before his sacking earlier this year what he felt was a lack of backing and no proper structure at the club might come into the perception of others. That and the repeated mediocre performances on the pitch that might be forcing them out of European football could prove increasingly difficult for Spurs to add a top name to the hot seat.
