The Mirror has today brought the Football Transfer Tavern to a hush with the news that Schalke player Lewis Holtby is set to leave the club sparking a chase from a host of Premier League clubs.
It had been hoped by the club that the player would follow the example of Klaas-Jan Hunterlaar and sign a new deal to keep him in Germany, but Holtby has decided to leave meaning that Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton could spark a war to land the midfielder.
Despite his half English roots, the player recently launched a scathing attack on the Premier League, throwing doubts over whether he would actually fancy a move to our shores. Holtby moaned about the lack of a winter break over here and said that: “The break in the Bundesliga gives everyone the chance to have a rest. We also get the chance to go back and spend time with our families over Christmas, which is important.”
He went on to claim that the lack of a break does not just take players away from their families but also runs the risk of injury saying that: “I know how important football is to English fans over the Christmas break, but it must take its toll on the players. For the rest of us it doesn’t make too much sense because when players are tired and playing so regularly you do pick up little niggles and injuries.”
Holtby played against Arsenal for Schalke in the Champions League group stages this term and the boyhood Everton-fan impressed on both occasions enabling his stock to rise even higher.
