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Tottenham's Lewis Holtby hopes his friends will follow him to Premier League
German star can see more of his countrymen in England
TOM COLLOMOSSE Evening Standard
Published: 07 November 2013
Lewis Holtby believes German stars Julian Draxler and Marco Reus could soon join the ranks of their countrymen in the Premier League.
German players are among the most coveted in world football at present and they are starting to make their presence felt in London, with Holtby at Tottenham, Andre Schurrle at Chelsea and Per Mertesacker, Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski and Serge Gnabry at Arsenal.
The Premier League had the upper hand over the Bundesliga last night, with Arsenal winning 1-0 at Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea claiming a 3-0 victory over Schalke, Draxler’s current club and the one Holtby left to join Spurs last January.
But Holtby is confident those results will not make his compatriots any less attractive to the strongest clubs in England. “Draxler is on the list of every big team,” Holtby told Standard Sport. “He is a fantastic young player and I think a lot of money will probably be spent on him. I don’t know whether he wants to come but there are a lot of players there.
“People say Marco Reus is in talks with everyone here so Germany have a number of big talents and the Premier League is very keen on getting them in. You also look at Adam Szalai, the Hungarian striker at Schalke.
“It’s good that so many Germans are coming to the Premier League, which I believe is the best and most attractive competition in the world. German players are very dedicated and professional. It’s the dedication that makes them attractive to clubs.
“It’s also great to have other German players in London, good to speak a bit of German, and more and more of them will come. Every German player is welcome in England.”
Holtby himself might be rested by Spurs head coach Andre Villas-Boas for tonight’s Europa League meeting with Sheriff after the midfielder forced his way into the first-choice XI for Premier League fixtures.
The 23-year-old is being preferred to Christian Eriksen, one of Spurs’ major summer signings, in an advanced midfield role, and he is likely to be left on the bench tonight as a result. Victory will guarantee Tottenham a place in the knockout stages with two group games to spare.
Holtby believes he is starting to discover the form that persuaded Spurs to sign him from Schalke last winter. And despite the departure of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid last summer, Holtby is confident that Spurs now have a squad better-equipped to challenge strongly in many competitions.
He continued: “It’s always difficult to join a club in January, especially when there are not many other signings, and I needed a little bit of a break and a pre-season, just to get to know everyone better. I feel very welcome now. I feel at home here in the team, so now I can show I’m really capable of, and I think I’m progressing.
“Do we have a more balanced squad now? Definitely. Respect to Gareth who was awesome here, a fantastic guy and a fantastic player, but the new players have really adapted to our team and our style of football.
“The Premier League is very tight and it will be very close at the top. You see how much money all clubs are spending, like Cardiff, who were promoted only last season.
“But we are fourth now and if we can continue to adapt to each other, then we have big objectives to aim for.”
Love the guy and hopefully one of Reus or Draxler will end up at our club.
German star can see more of his countrymen in England
TOM COLLOMOSSE Evening Standard
Published: 07 November 2013
Lewis Holtby believes German stars Julian Draxler and Marco Reus could soon join the ranks of their countrymen in the Premier League.
German players are among the most coveted in world football at present and they are starting to make their presence felt in London, with Holtby at Tottenham, Andre Schurrle at Chelsea and Per Mertesacker, Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski and Serge Gnabry at Arsenal.
The Premier League had the upper hand over the Bundesliga last night, with Arsenal winning 1-0 at Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea claiming a 3-0 victory over Schalke, Draxler’s current club and the one Holtby left to join Spurs last January.
But Holtby is confident those results will not make his compatriots any less attractive to the strongest clubs in England. “Draxler is on the list of every big team,” Holtby told Standard Sport. “He is a fantastic young player and I think a lot of money will probably be spent on him. I don’t know whether he wants to come but there are a lot of players there.
“People say Marco Reus is in talks with everyone here so Germany have a number of big talents and the Premier League is very keen on getting them in. You also look at Adam Szalai, the Hungarian striker at Schalke.
“It’s good that so many Germans are coming to the Premier League, which I believe is the best and most attractive competition in the world. German players are very dedicated and professional. It’s the dedication that makes them attractive to clubs.
“It’s also great to have other German players in London, good to speak a bit of German, and more and more of them will come. Every German player is welcome in England.”
Holtby himself might be rested by Spurs head coach Andre Villas-Boas for tonight’s Europa League meeting with Sheriff after the midfielder forced his way into the first-choice XI for Premier League fixtures.
The 23-year-old is being preferred to Christian Eriksen, one of Spurs’ major summer signings, in an advanced midfield role, and he is likely to be left on the bench tonight as a result. Victory will guarantee Tottenham a place in the knockout stages with two group games to spare.
Holtby believes he is starting to discover the form that persuaded Spurs to sign him from Schalke last winter. And despite the departure of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid last summer, Holtby is confident that Spurs now have a squad better-equipped to challenge strongly in many competitions.
He continued: “It’s always difficult to join a club in January, especially when there are not many other signings, and I needed a little bit of a break and a pre-season, just to get to know everyone better. I feel very welcome now. I feel at home here in the team, so now I can show I’m really capable of, and I think I’m progressing.
“Do we have a more balanced squad now? Definitely. Respect to Gareth who was awesome here, a fantastic guy and a fantastic player, but the new players have really adapted to our team and our style of football.
“The Premier League is very tight and it will be very close at the top. You see how much money all clubs are spending, like Cardiff, who were promoted only last season.
“But we are fourth now and if we can continue to adapt to each other, then we have big objectives to aim for.”
Love the guy and hopefully one of Reus or Draxler will end up at our club.
