In the summer of 2015, Tottenham Hotspur confirmed the sale of Lewis Holtby to Hamburg following a season on loan at the German club.
The midfielder joined Spurs in 2013 from German Schalke 04 but never managed to cement himself in the Tottenham first XI and left the club after only playing one full season in north London.
Following his loan with Hamburg, the German club exercised their option to buy the midfielder and he joined for a reported £4.6 million fee. Here’s what the Tottenham fans said after the sale of Holtby.
https://twitter.com/Matttilts88/status/616252186943729664
https://twitter.com/LianneTHFC19/status/616273405566959616
@SpursOfficial @LewisHoltby stupid move, better, more energetic and more fighting spirit than half our midfielders. Good luck Lewis.
— Jay (@lebombom69) July 1, 2015
@SpursOfficial @LewisHoltby nooooo
— h (@HaydenSmithh_) July 1, 2015
@SpursOfficial @LewisHoltby gutted.
— Richie (@richiecoys) July 1, 2015
@SpursOfficial @LewisHoltby and we keep mason and bentaleb. What a joke. We are definitely going backwards. DANIEL LEVY SORT IT OUT!
— Gerry Baxter (@buggyyyyyy) July 2, 2015
After two loan spells away from the club with Bochum and Mainz, Holtby established himself as a starter for Schalke and made 27 appearances for the side. Halfway through the following season, Tottenham signed the midfielder.
Despite having obvious talent, the midfielder failed to make his mark on the side and only made 11 appearances for the club in his first season with the club. The following year he only made 13 appearances and was then sent on loan to Fulham for the remainder of the season.
Once again he was sent on loan, this time to his future parent club. Following a fairly average year, his move was confirmed and Spurs sold a midfielder that had obvious talent but never fulfilled it.
With Mauricio Pochettino taking over the club, Spurs were beginning on a new era and after the poor Tim Sherwood campaign, Holtby was a necessary casualty.
He’s now become a solid performer for Hamburg but one that never showed enough potential for Spurs, contrary to what the fans said. The German midfielder never showed that he was good enough to play for Spurs during his time there and he just simply wasn’t good enough.
