Tottenham Hotspur reportedly ended their interest in Feyenoord head coach Arne Slot due to the Dutch club's demands over his buy-out clause.
The 44-year-old emerged as the leading candidate to take over at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium from the 2023-24 season onwards after clinching Eredivisie title glory with Feyenoord.
It was reported that Slot would have been ready to leave the Rotterdam club for Spurs, but he announced on Thursday morning that he would be staying put and was discussing a new contract with Feyenoord.
Slot is already under contract with the Dutch champions for another two years, which would have put Feyenoord in line for compensation if the 44-year-old departed this summer.
According to Sky Sports News, Tottenham were told to pay as much as £10m to buy Slot out of his contract, while they would have also been forced to cough up another £5m for his backroom staff.
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Slot is understood to possess a £5m release clause in his deal, but that cannot be triggered until 2024, meaning that Tottenham would have had to pay significantly more to hire him this summer.
Given Feyenoord's demands, chairman Daniel Levy apparently pulled the plug on negotiations, and Spurs now believe that they were "used" by Slot to agree a more lucrative new deal with his current club.
Slot's announcement on Thursday stated that no serious talks had taken place with Tottenham, who are yet to hire a permanent successor to Antonio Conte since the Italian left by mutual consent in March.
Cristian Stellini - Conte's former right-hand man - was initially placed in interim charge until the end of the season, but his reign lasted just 29 days in the wake of a humiliating 6-1 loss to Newcastle United.
Following Stellini's departure, Ryan Mason was promoted to the top job, having also taken the reins towards the end of the 2020-21 season after Jose Mourinho was given the boot.
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Mason, who has won just one of his five games in charge during his second spell, is expected to make way for a new permanent head coach this summer, but a number of high-profile managers are now out of the running.
Slot moved to the top of Tottenham's wishlist after the Lilywhites decided against hiring Julian Nagelsmann, while former manager Mauricio Pochettino is set to be unveiled as Chelsea's new head coach.
Former Spain and Barcelona manager Luis Enrique is thought to be high up on Levy's shortlist, while Celtic's Ange Postecoglou, Brighton & Hove Albion's Roberto De Zerbi and Fulham's Marco Silva have also been linked with the role.
Tottenham bring the curtain down on a difficult season away to Leeds United on Sunday, currently sitting one point below Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League spot.
Ben Knapton
