Arne Slot made Roberto De Zerbi feelings clear as Tottenham talks progress - 'One of the best'

Arne Slot could find himself coming up against Roberto De Zerbi again next season, with the Liverpool boss having already spoken glowingly of the potential new Tottenham manager

Arne Slot and Roberto De Zerbi could face each other again next season(Image: Getty Images)

Arne Slot has already given his seal of approval for Tottenham to appoint Roberto De Zerbi, having described him as “one of the best managers in the world”.

De Zerbi looks to be growing closer to taking over at Spurs after the north London club parted ways with interim boss Igor Tudor on Sunday.

Tottenham elected to make the change after a disastrous run of results, with Tudor losing five of his seven games in charge, and taking just one point in the Premier League. That solitary point came, embarrassingly for Slot and his Liverpool side, at Anfield earlier this month.

Spurs don’t look to be wasting any time in finding Tudor’s successor, with Sky Sports claiming that they are in talks with De Zerbi.

The former Brighton boss is said to be open to taking the job now, having previously been reluctant to do so until the summer when it last became available after Thomas Frank’s dismissal, with Tottenham offering him a five-year deal.

That means, should he take the job and keep Spurs in the Premier League, De Zerbi could come head-to-head with Slot again.

The pair faced each other back in January, with Liverpool cruising to a 3-0 win over Marseille in the Champions League to put itself on the verge of a place in the last-16, and leave the French side close to being knocked out altogether.

Roberto De Zerbi is the front-runner to take over at Spurs after Igor Tudor's exit. (Image: Isosport/MB Media, Getty Images)

Marseille would go on to miss out on a spot in the knockout stages, with De Zerbi departing soon after, having been left disgruntled with the manner in which his side played against Liverpool.

Despite that, Slot was glowing in his praise of his opposite number, and even sent a message out to any club thinking of hiring De Zerbi in the future.

“Yeah, I regard him as one of the best managers in the world because, in my opinion, that should not always be judged on the amount of trophies you win, it should also be judged on the fact how you let your team play,” Slot said on De Zerbi.

“I'm not the one that's hiring coaches, but if I was one, he would definitely be very high on the list, if I worked at a big club.”

Slot added: “He's a very good manager and it’s not always fair to judge managers only on what they win. The style of play should be, in my opinion, very important as well as the development of players, and that's what you see with him, that players always develop very well.

“Then sometimes when he leaves, these players are not as good anymore as they were with him, and that usually tells me how good of a manager you are.”

Whether the two will meet again next season is very much in the balance. Tottenham sits just a point above the relegation zone after a 3-0 defeat to relegation rival Nottingham Forest before the international break, with De Zerbi facing a huge job to keep his potential new side in the Premier League.

What’s more, speculation continues over Slot’s position at Liverpool, with the Dutchman struggling to get his side to qualify for next season’s Champions League. The Reds sit fifth with seven games remaining, only a point ahead of Chelsea.