I completed dream Liverpool transfer after rejecting strange move following Tottenham phone call
Arne Slot’s incredible start to life as Liverpool head coach shows no signs of slowing down as the Reds head into the Premier League’s festive period. They currently sit top of the Premier League by two points, and also boast a game in hand.
Chelsea could admittedly overtake them on Sunday prior to Liverpool’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur, courtesy of the Londoners travelling to Everton in the earlier kick-off, but the Reds are in a particularly strong position as they pursue only their second league title since 1990.
Meanwhile, they sit comfortably atop the Champions League league phase table, having won all six of their matches to date and are on the verge of sealing their place in next year’s round-of-16.
Throw in a League Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur to look forward to in the New Year, plus the visit of League Two Accrington Stanley to Anfield in the FA Cup third round, and things are looking rosy for Slot and his side.
Overseeing 20 victories from his 24 matches to date, losing just once, the Dutchman - who rejected taking over at Tottenham last year - has made a mockery of doubters who thought Liverpool would collapse following Jurgen Klopp’s departure.
But the former Feyenoord boss is not the first man to thrive after trading De Kuip for Anfield, with both Jerzy Dudek and Dirk Kuyt both previously making the same switch - albeit during their playing careers - and becoming club icons in the process.
Meanwhile, like Slot, Kuyt even turned down a switch to Tottenham a year before making his move to Liverpool too.
The forward joined the Reds in a £10m move from Feyenoord in the summer of 2006, and went on to score 71 goals from 285 appearances during six years at Anfield. But the former Netherlands international could have made the move to England 12 months earlier.
Having just won the Eredivisie Golden Boot with 29 goals in 2004/05 - netting 36 goals from 44 appearances in all competitions - Kuyt attracted interest from Tottenham at the end of the summer transfer window. But he rejected their advances as he did not wish to leave Feyenoord without a striker.
"One year before I left for Liverpool, I was able to go to Tottenham Hotspur on the last day of the transfer market,” he recalled on the Kieft Jansen Egmond Gijp podcast last year. “Spurs chairman Daniel Levy called, he wanted me.
“I thought that was a very strange moment to leave Feyenoord behind. Leaving Feyenoord without a striker, albeit with a bag of money. Then [agent] Rob Jansen and I decided together not to do that.”
Why Kuyt would reject Spurs’ advances, the lure of Liverpool proved too big in August 2006 following a 25-goal campaign for Feyenoord. And speaking at the time, the forward admitted that then Netherlands manager Marco van Basten helped him decide to move on after telling him he had grown ‘too big’ for Dutch football.
"Marco van Basten has told me this is a very good move not only for myself but for the Dutch team,” he said. "He thinks I have become too big for football in Holland and I need a move to a bigger club.
“And he thinks Liverpool is a good club for me. It is a dream that a club like Liverpool with their history wanted me.
“The beginning of the week I was just stunned by things, now it is a privilege to play for them. I think my game is suited to England, I think I am a typical type of player for the Premier League.
"I know there is a lot of competition up front, but that is only good for the team. Not everybody can play 50-60 games a season."
