Arne Slot's fearless Liverpool decision about to be justified two years after Spurs snub

Arne Slot is on the cusp of immortalising himself among the Liverpool greats on Sunday against Tottenham Hotspur - a club that he turned down

Liverpool could be crowned as Premier League champions on Saturday - should they avoid defeat against Tottenham Hotspur. Head coach Arne Slot is on the cusp of joining an elite group of managers as he looks set to lead the Reds to the English top-flight in his debut season.

Few envisaged that the Dutchman would take on the baton from Jurgen Klopp so seamlessly and the Reds were completely written off for competing for the biggest prize in domestic football.

The contrasting fortunes for both Liverpool and Spurs will be analysed ahead of the two clubs' meeting, this weekend. For the man at the helm at Anfield, it could have been a different story had he made the decision to leave Feyenoord when the call from North London came.

In May 2023, Slot became one of the contenders to succeed Antonio Conte following his sacking - two months earlier. Their interest came weeks after the Dutchman had guided Feyenoord to the Eredivisie title, just their second of the century.

The Premier League had previously come calling with Leeds United also expressing an interest in appointing Slot as their new manager after Jesse Marsch was dismissed.

Speaking at the time, the head coach dismissed reports of an exit - ruling himself out of the job in North London.

"I have been hearing a lot of rumours going around about other interest in me," he said.

"Although I am thankful, my wish is to stay at Feyenoord and continue working on what we created last year.

"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. Looking forward to next season with Feyenoord."

Nearly two years to the month later, Slot could become the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League, doing so alongside fellow countryman Virgil van Dijk - who can also become the first Dutchman to captain a side to the top-flight silverware.

The two clubs have locked horns three times already this season with Liverpool winning two, including the second-leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final where they bounced back from their narrow defeat in the reverse fixture.

Ange Postecoglou is at the helm at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and is facing increasing scrutiny with the club staring down the barrel of their worst-ever Premier League campaign, as they sit in 16th.

During the time when Slot was the subject of interest from Spurs, there had already been a string of hirings and firings in the dugout. Following Conte's exit, he was replaced by Cristian Stellini, who was named interim manager.

But his tenure came to an end after just four matches, leaving Ryan Mason to take over for a second caretaker spell.

Slot showed no hesitation to take over at Liverpool in the summer, despite the daunting prospect of replacing his predecessor, who emphatically restored the club to the world stage, ending their wait for Premier League success.

The 46-year-old discussed his near-appointment in North London in December, he said: "The problem is that the ones who know do not want to talk about it, and the ones who don’t know do want to talk about it.

"That sometimes happens in football. I’ve always preferred not to say anything about it. It might be true, it might not be true.

"I’ll leave it with what I said back then. I was really happy that I stayed at Feyenoord. That I can say."

For those representatives of Tottenham Hotspur, in hindsight, it's a case of what could have been. And although trepidation clouded Slot's appointment, he has sensationally silenced critics so far as the parallels between the Klopp transition mimics the successful handover between Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley.

On Sunday, the Liverpool head coach can become just the second ever tactician to win the Premier League in the Reds dugout and immortalise himself among Shankly, Paisley and Sir Kenny Dalglish - against a club he rejected.