Lewis Holtby

Lewis Harry Holtby (born 18 September 1990) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Holstein Kiel.

Holtby began his professional career with Alemannia Aachen before signing for Schalke 04 two years later.

Lewis Harry Holtby was born on 18 September 1990 in Erkelenz, West Germany.

He began playing football at the age of four with amateur side Sparta Gerderath, a club with whom his father had also previously played, before signing for Borussia Mönchengladbach when he was 11-years old.

He spent three seasons in Gladbach's academy before the club let him go in 2004, deeming him to be too small and slow to make it as a professional footballer.

Following his release, Holtby elected to sign for Alemannia Aachen in the second tier of German football at the age of 14.

After three years in Aachen's academy, Holtby signed a professional contract with the club during the 2007–08 season.

He was then handed his first-team debut at the age of 17 by caretaker manager Jörg Schmadtke in December 2007, coming on as a second half substitute for Mirko Casper in a 2–2 draw with FC St. Pauli.

His debut was one of only two appearances for the season, with his second coming in a 3–1 loss to TuS Koblenz on the last match day of the campaign.

The following season, Holtby was converted to the left wing position by new club manager Jürgen Seeberger.

Holtby also represented Germany at various youth levels from 2008 to 2013 and captained the nation at the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Excelling in his new role, he scored his first goal for the club on 8 December 2008 against 1860 Munich before netting a brace in a 6–2 drubbing of Nürnberg in February the following year.

He ultimately made 31 appearances for the season and scored eight goals as Aachen ended the campaign in fourth place, narrowly missing out on a spot in the promotion playoffs.

Schalke emerged as the successful suitors and in July 2008 signed him on a four-year deal for a reported fee of €2.5 million.

Holtby's form for the season saw him awarded the Gold Fritz Walter Medal for the best German U19 player in 2009, ahead of runners-up Konstantin Rausch and André Schürrle.

Having impressed in the second division with Aachen, Holtby was courted by a number of Bundesliga sides ahead of the 2009–10 season.

He was handed his debut for the club on 1 August 2009 by manager Felix Magath, with whom he would later fall out with, in a 4–0 DFB Pokal win over Germania Windeck.

He featured nine times in the league, during which he registered two assists, and twice in the cup before being loaned to fellow Bundesliga side Bochum in January for the remainder of the season.

He made his senior debut against Sweden in 2010 and has since won 3 caps for the national side.

Holtby joined Bochum at the end of January 2010, initially on an 18-month long loan deal.

He made his debut for the club on 6 February in a 1–1 Bundesliga draw with Bayer Leverkusen in which he registered the assist for Zlatko Dedic's second-half equalizer.

On 13 March, he scored his first goal for the club, and his first in the Bundesliga, in a 4–1 defeat at the hands of Dortmund.

He made 14 appearances in total for Bochum and scored twice before his loan was cut short at the end of the season following the club's relegation.

Upon his return to Schalke, Holtby was once again loaned out for the 2010–11 season, this time to Mainz.

Under the management of Thomas Tuchel at Mainz, Holtby formed a strong partnership with attackers Ádám Szalai and André Schürrle which helped the club to seven successive wins at the start of the season.

His impressive form for the club caught the eye of national team coach Joachim Löw who selected him for the senior Germany squad in November 2010.

He ultimately made 32 appearances for the season across all competitions and scored 6 goals as Mainz ended the season in fifth place, 18 points ahead of Schalke, and qualified for a spot in the UEFA Europa League for the next season.

Upon the expiration of his loan at Mainz, Holtby paid tribute to Tuchel, describing him as a brilliant coach who had made him a much better player.

He was subsequently loaned to VfL Bochum and Mainz 05 before returning to Gelsenkirchen where he lifted the DFL-Supercup in 2011.

Following his return to Schalke, Holtby was named in the starting line-up for the 2011 Supercup on 23 July and scored the first penalty in a penalty shoot-out victory over Dortmund.

He scored his first goal for the club the following month, netting Schalke's third in a 5–1 league win over Köln.

Having previously played as an attacking fielder and winger, Holtby was converted to a deeper role under new manager Ralf Rangnick due to Spanish legend Raúl occupying the more advanced attacking position in the team.

In spite of his more defensive role, Holtby managed to record a career best tally of nine goals for the season across 41 appearances, helping Schalke finish the campaign in fifth position in the league and as semi-finalists in the Champions League.

At the start of the following season, Holtby said that he would not be extending his contract with the club which was set to expire at the end of the campaign.

He then spent two seasons in England with Premier League sides Tottenham and Fulham between 2013 and 2014 before returning to Germany to sign for Hamburger SV.

During the January transfer window, Premier League side Tottenham announced that they had signed Holtby on a pre-contract, with the player to join the club in July 2013.

On 18 January, during his first match following the announcement, he scored what proved to be the winning goal for Schalke in a 5–4 defeat of Hannover 96.

He played only one more match for the club, however, as Tottenham reached an agreement with Schalke to fast-track Holtby's transfer to January following a serious injury to Sandro.

On 28 January 2013, Holtby signed a four-and-a-half-year contract to complete a £1.5 million move to Tottenham Hotspur.

There, he spent five seasons, including the 2017–18 Bundesliga campaign in which the club was relegated for the first time in history, and made over 100 appearances before spending two seasons with EFL Championship side Blackburn Rovers between 2019 and 2021.