SLOT POISED TO JOIN THE 'SPECIAL ONES'

First-season winner Arne will be welcomed to an elite club

- DAVID ANDERSON

ARNE SLOT is poised to join an exclusive club for which even Arsene Wenger, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola failed to gain membership.

Only four managers in Premier League history Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini and Antonio Conte - have won the title in their debut season in English football.

And, Slot is set to achieve this feat without spending the pots of cash his rivals splashed out at Chelsea and Manchester City.

Mourinho waltzed into Stamford Bridge declaring himself the "The Special One, but did live up to his moniker by cruising to the title and lifting the League Cup in his first campaign.

But his reign coincided with the early free spending days of Chelsea's former owner Roman Abramovich.

Mourinho spent almost £100m when he took over Chelsea in the summer of 2004, including £24m for Didier Drogba and £19.85m for Ricardo Carvalho, before lifting his first title in 2005.

Ancelotti spent a more modest £23m in the summer of 2009, mainly on the £18m Yuri Zhirkov, after moving to Stamford Bridge from his trophy-laden eight seasons at AC Milan.