Form Ajax and Netherlands striker Wim Kieft has compared the impact that Arne Slot has had at Feyenoord with the one Pep Guardiola has had at Manchester City.
The speculation linking Slot with a move to Tottenham shows no signs of dissipating, with The Independent reporting last week that Daniel Levy is expected to turn to the Dutchman if he is not able to convince Julian Nagelsmann to take the job.
(Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
ESPN claimed on Monday that the Feyenoord boss is emerging as a ‘serious candidate’ to replace Antonio Conte as the Spurs hierarchy are impressed with the work he has done at De Kuip.
The report added that Tottenham do not want to repeat the same mistake they made back in 2021 when they passed up on another promising Dutch coach in Erik Ten Hag.
However, De Telegraaf claimed on Tuesday that the one thing that could count against Slot is the fact that he does not have any experience, either as a player or a coach, in a top European league.
Kieft believes that the 44-year-old’s work at Feyenoord is particularly impressive, given the fact that he is working with players of a lower quality than he would have at top European clubs.
He told De Telegraaf (30/04/23 via SportWitness): “The nice thing about Guardiola is that with him football is not just about winning prizes.
“Of course, he wants to win prizes, but he just makes sure it is always fun to watch his teams. At Barcelona he obviously had Lionel Messi, he had Xavi and Iniesta there too.
“But wherever he sat in all the years, everywhere you immediately saw his hand. What Guardiola does at Manchester City, Arne Slot does at Feyenoord, but at a different level.
“That has everything to do with money, but his view and his philosophy are the same. Slot has to work with players of lesser quality.”
Spurs Web Opinion
While Slot is working with a lower standard of players at Rotterdam, he is also in a league that is not as competitive against coaches of a lower standard.
It is impossible to be sure if his style of football would translate to the Premier League and would be as successful in the competition.
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