Tottenham Hotspur have faced a whirlwind 24 hours. Just when it looks as though things are moving in an upward trajectory, fans are brought back down to earth with a firm realisation that any positive news will often turn sour. The latest version of this regular occurrence comes in the form of Arne Slot.
The Feyenoord manager had become the frontrunner for the job at Spurs with a formal approach being prepared. An important meeting was also conducted on Wednesday between Slot's agent and Feyenoord to discuss his future and under 24 hours after the conclusion of those talks, the result has been made abundantly clear.
On Thursday morning, Slot was quoted by AD as saying: “I have been hearing a lot of rumours going around about other clubs' interest in me. Although I am thankful, my wish is to stay at Feyenoord and continue working on what we created last year.
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“There is not - and there has not been - transfer conversation and yesterday’s meeting was exclusively for an extension. All talks with the club have always been only in that sense. I'm looking forward to next season with Feyenoord.”
Slot now looks set to sign a new contract at Feyenoord, which completely rules him out of taking over at Spurs. That is now four firm targets to have been identified by Spurs, only for the chosen candidate to reject those advances with Slot repeating the stances of Julian Nagelsmann, Vincent Kompany and Xabi Alonso, with the latter duo committing to Burnley and Bayer Leverkusen, respectively.
However, appointing a new manager is not the only monumental decision that faces Levy and Tottenham this summer. The director of football position still needs to be filled at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and that is arguably right now, more important than agreeing a deal for the next permanent head coach.
That is because the person chosen will undoubtedly be involved in the new manager process as the duo will work closely on transfers. So, even before Levy re-focuses his attention on the remaining short list names after the ending of Slot talks, Spurs simply have to work quickly and appoint a director of football to calm an unsettled fanbase who are demanding answers.
On the list is understood to be Roma's Tiago Pinto and ex-Bayer Leverkusen sporting director Tim Steidten, along with one other unknown name. Finalising a move for one of those, or perhaps a different option altogether, has to come soon so at least there is some direction made clear by the club.
Leaving supporters in the dark over everything after another manager linked with the job does not look to be joining is important. A meticulous process being carried out is fine, as long as that is communicated, but it is getting scarily close to a repeat of 2021 when Nuno Espirito Santo was brought in.
Several targets including Antonio Conte, Gennaro Gattuso and Paulo Fonseca were all in talks at the time but each deal fell apart for different reasons, although Conte would eventually come to the club, only for the Italian to leave sooner than expected. While no manager has necessarily been in advanced talks, Conte left the club nearly two months ago and still nothing is clear.
It is important now for Spurs to just get to the end of a disappointing 2022/23 season and focus on the next era where the decisions need to be made promptly and cleverly. Levy does not have the benefit of the doubt from the fanbase because they have been here numerous times before, which makes the next few months absolutely crucial to the long-term hopes of the football club.
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