Official - Holtby

[Kingdawson]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

The 2nd time we signed him he cost £15m.

No don't think he did.

Weren't we a PLC at the time? anything above £10m would have been published in the stock exchange and that deal wasn't.

 

[Jammy]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

I thought he cost about £6m second time because Pompey still owed us some money from the original transfer.

 

[diego_maradona]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

i always thought it was £15m

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/7807491.stm

 

[Modric THFC]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

Raphael Honigstein (german journo) on Holtby on twitter - https://twitter.com/honigstein

"plenty of question on Holtby to Spurs. some quick thoughts

he's a no10 who can play deeper but isn't quite ready for that yet. ok in wide positions but not really at his best there

his main problem is inconsistency. not always at the level that we saw from him v Arsenal at the Emirates and for German U21 (excellent)

don't see a way for him to play for Germany at the moment. but that doesn't really matter, think of Mata / Spain

here's the important bit, imo. because he's free, it's really a no-brainer. at, say 70k per week, he basically plays for free for 2 years

...as Spurs will always be able to sell him on for 6-7m if he doesn't work out.

the potential is there. but not a world-beater yet"

 

[Kingdawson]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

It wasn't that high. I know initial reports were saying it was £15m but eventually we found out about Pompey owing us cash....and also the deal not being published in the stock exchange (10m plus deals have to be declared right?).

 

[diego_maradona]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

It wasn't that high. I know initial reports were saying it was £15m but eventually we found out about Pompey owing us cash....and also the deal not being published in the stock exchange (10m plus deals have to be declared right?).

But it prob was that high with Pompey. The money owed would still count, its just written off

 

[Kingdawson]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

But it prob was that high with Pompey. The money owed would still count, its just written off

Mate this is Levy we're talking about ..he's one upped bigger fish than cash struck Portsmouth. I doubt it was anywhere near the £15m figure.

 

[thfcsteff]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

Waiting for the formation change and player changes in the starting lineup to use any such new players. No opinion til then.

I heard Holtby had an American Grandad? Is that true?!!

 

[thfcsteff]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

In all honesty if Holtby turns out to be as good as people say he is then this is a much more sensible signing than Moutinho. All these pipe dreams of Llorente, Damaio, Willian... all very good players. In all honesty we are not structured to be making mega deals like these. Holtby is way more in line with the sort of thinking we should have.

Of course I'll be over the moon if we get a big gun. But we have to be wary. I wanted Moutinho and for £22m I think it was a reasonable fee. I was just looking back at our biggest fees we've paid.

Bentley 17m
Bent 16m
Modric 16m
Pav 15m
Defoe 15m

Some of those players. Ouch.

Bang on.
Even Levy cannot print his own money.
I believe that for the first time since Arnesen (and Comolli), Levy feels a congruence with the management set-up. AVB and Freund are both young, smart and keen coaches. I will be accused of going overboard here, and so be it, but we really could be building a squad with the same mentality, resilience and talent as one of SAF's. I "hope" we can keep Bale, but I am 100% sure that if he goes in the summer, AVB will spend the money on the 'fairy-dust' talent you need in these situations. All in all my confidence in the set-up we have now is greater than I have felt in around a decade at least. It feels like a solid movement towards a great goal...

 

[thfcsteff]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

Raphael Honigstein (german journo) on Holtby on twitter - https://twitter.com/honigstein

"plenty of question on Holtby to Spurs. some quick thoughts

he's a no10 who can play deeper but isn't quite ready for that yet. ok in wide positions but not really at his best there

his main problem is inconsistency. not always at the level that we saw from him v Arsenal at the Emirates and for German U21 (excellent)

don't see a way for him to play for Germany at the moment. but that doesn't really matter, think of Mata / Spain

here's the important bit, imo. because he's free, it's really a no-brainer. at, say 70k per week, he basically plays for free for 2 years

...as Spurs will always be able to sell him on for 6-7m if he doesn't work out.

the potential is there. but not a world-beater yet"

Interesting appraisal there...sounds very similar to the situation with Bale in terms of raw potential versus fulfilment. This is precisely where we will see what our coaching set-up can do and if it is everything I (personally) believe it is.

 

[Jordinho]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

Spurs seem to follow our every move in the transfer market I say we fudge them and put in an inquiry for Shaun Derry next thing we will hear is spurs sign Derry for 10 million. Lets reverse psychology these asshats and burn through their budget.

we tried that with adam carroll henderson and downing, and it just didn't work.

:lol:

 

[Enter the Pitbull]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

Fantastic signing. As some on this board will know I am a bundlesliga watcher and I have rated this boy for a while. Good work to sign him.

 

[diego_maradona]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

Fantastic signing. As some on this board will know I am a bundlesliga watcher and I have rated this boy for a while. Good work to sign him.

Ahhh just the man... tell us more. What's his best position? Where do you see him playing for us? You agree with Honigstein?

What level is he in comparison to the likes of Gotze, Ozil, Muller etc?

 

[indianspur]

Re: Lewis Holtby

Tottenham making successful signings is the only thing important to me.
Couldn't care less that a bit of genuine info finally emerged from the normal itk flimflam.

ok cheery chops

 

[Jordinho]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

Arse Mania on Holtby, starting this summer:

Good signing if we make it.

I'd be pleased with this provided it doesn't interfere with our plans for other signings. Good talent, could go on to become something great. Has got a good pass on him but I wouldn't expect him to unlock a defence ala Wheelchair, he's a good dribbler so he makes for a great ball carrying player. Think he's played DM, CM and AM so he would provide good versatility aswell, though I haven't seen enough of him to know which is his favoured position. I'm not sure why the Mirror present him as being a replacement for Theo as for me they aren't remotely similar

He is a real talent and could add to our midfield depth and quality

Still I think Holtby could be an improvement over Ramsey and maybe Rosicky at CAM and he'd be another option for if Arteta is out too. Plus the potential is there

My impression of Holtby was that he's very much an attacking player, kind of like an Iniesta - a good dribbler and passer who plays at AM and sometimes wide on the right cutting in.

But he's more of a traditional central midfielder?

Usually plays as a deep lying creator/box to box type alongside a destroyer like Jermaine Jones. I did hear that he used to play as an AMC though.

He certainly can dribble, that's for sure. Probably not someone you'd expect to play defense splitting passes, but his short passing and distribution is quite solid.

Might make for a decent Diaby replacement, but tbh I'm not sure he would bring anything Wheelchair and Ramsey dont.

I am not sure if he's any better than Ramsey. Ive only seen him once playing AM at Schalke and he seemed to be struggling in a similar way to Ramsey.

I'd be all for signing Holtby. A decent talent who can become a lot better here. Has played much everywhere across the midfield.

Apparantly he's being looked at as a replacement for Theo although it's not confirmed.

I have to say I've never seen Holtby play out wide, so I'm not quite sure why he's being bandied around as a Walcott replacement.

Even so, he'd likely be more of a creative wide player rather than a pacey finisher like Walcott.

I actually like Holtby but another small, technical midfielder isn't exactly a pressing concern of mine. Think he is better than Ramsey but still not exactly a world class player or anything. He would improve us to an extent so I guess it helps us, but don't want to replace Theo with him.

Liked Holtby very much when he played in an advanced position or on the wing for Mainz, but for Schalke he's had an underwhelming season to say the least. Might be good for his development to play deeper, but he's far more effective in attacking play. Wouldn't mind this signing if he's played as a winger, not creative enough right now to play CAM imo.

Then in November:

Claiming that he will choose his next team, in the premiership with mentions of loving Arsenal, "For me it was always a dream to play in the Premier League and it was always a team like Arsenal that I would like to play for."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20288205

Was good in the second leg against us. Looks like an improvement on Ramsey and would be a good option.

Liverpool want him too. Right about now, he would get into our first team.

On a free he's a decent option with potential to grow. We do need top players that will improve our x11. Is he or can he become good enough for that, I'm not sure. He certainly isn't the level the current top3 clubs would be going for just yet

Is he better than Ramsey though? I think they're similar in many ways. Both looked explosive when breaking through but have lost a yard now. Holtby is maybe slightly better, but he wouldn't be an exciting signing for me

Ramsey doesn't hold a candle to him. He's the only player who's regularly playing who offers **** all.

Holtby is asking Schalke to quadruple his wages to around 92.000 GBP per week. Sounds like he could be the next Nasri.

http://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/lewis-holtby/forderte-300-prozent-mehr-gehalt-27194890.bild.html

And finally yesterday:

Good player but not what we need in midfield.

Not happy he's going Spurs, looked a quality little player when I watched him in the CL this season.

much more reliable and experienced than ramsey and can play the roles out wide as well as centrally, but we just signed aaron up so we aren't going to move on lewis which is a shame as he seems more suited to the squad role that we have ramsey in at the moment.

We missed a trick here, Holtby is good enough to be a starter here and improve us. Spurs are making some good signings, Dembele, Dempsey, Ade, Vert and now Holtby. We need to keep up

Dempsey is horsebrick.

Tottenham have made some really solid Premiership quality players, but most of which have never touched Champions League football consistently or finished in the top 4 regularly.

However, more signings like Holtby and players who have CL experience and our 'race' to the top 4 could get a lot harder. Right now we have the edge with our experience.

Don't think it would be a big loss should Holtby go to Tottenham. He runs all day and is tidy on the ball but doesn't really offer much more than that. Pretty standard midfielder IMO.

I like Holtby but don't feel he is the type of player that we need, he's kind of a less talented Jack Wheelchair. What we need is a midfield force.

Good signing for Spurs. He's better than Ramsey, but not by much from what I've seen. Looks like Schalke weren't that keen on keeping him. Spurs will have to pay compensation as he's under 24, plus he'll also be on inflated wages

he can do the job that rosicky does (when fit) and ramsey does in the squad as he can play almost all the roles in midfield, good pick up for them and I hear the wage packet is ~ £3.8mil a year so they are paying a good amount to bring him in when you included the compensation for a player that has played 4 times for germany at 22.

Not worried in the slightest by Spu*s signing him.

 

[Jordinho]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

Andre Villas-Boas was the key factor in Lewis Holtby's decision to join Tottenham from Schalke, according to his agent.

The 22-year-old will join Spurs in the summer on a free transfer, the north London club announced on Friday, and his representative has stated that the Portuguese boss was the deciding factor in his destination.

"Schalke made Lewis a very good offer, we know that," Marcus Noack told Goal.com. "But this decision is not against Schalke.

"We had a lot of offers from every top league in Europe. If you look at the whole package, then Tottenham was the best choice.

"Andre Villas-Boas is especially convincing. This is a top coach. The decision to leave Schalke and join Tottenham came in mid-December. And it was very hard for us to choose."

Noack added that a transfer to Spurs in the January transfer window had not been discussed.

He continued: "The agreement says: [in the] summer. If a winter move was possible, I can't say right now, because we didn't talk about that."

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2892/transfer-zone/2013/01/04/3648583/agent-villas-boas-key-to-holtby-joining-tottenham

 

[Rossi22]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

It was Kaboul whose fee was lower due to money Portsmouth owed us, we only paid around £5m for Younes when it should've been close to double that. Defoe cost 15m.

 

[Kingdawson]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

It was Kaboul whose fee was lower due to money Portsmouth owed us, we only paid around £5m for Younes when it should've been close to double that. Defoe cost 15m.

Are you even reading what i posted?

At the time Tottenham Hotspur was a PLC so all deals over £10m had to be announced via the stock exchange and the Defoe deal wasn't meaning the deal was worth less than £10m.

 

[Rossi22]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

Ive seen that line being trotted out a lot, link me to where all the other £10m+ deals were "announced on the stock exchange" and maybe I'll buy it. Perhaps like with most fees, it's paid in installments, rather than one lump sum so there wasn't £10m or more ever going out of the club in one hit.

Defoe cost £15m, sorry.

 

[Jordinho]

Re: *Official* Holtby to join in July thread

Redknapp originally lured Defoe to Pompey in 2008, for a deal worth up to £12m, when he was in charge at Fratton Park.

Defoe was paraded before the Spurs fans ahead of their home 4-1 Carling Cup first-leg semi-final win over Burnley, even though the Premier League had yet to approve the deal.

Rule L19 forbids players returning to clubs within a year, but the League can waive this at its discretion.

BBC Radio 5 Live's senior football reporter Ian Dennis explained: "From my understanding a sell-on clause worth about £4m by Portsmouth has been waived.

"While the package is £15m the initial outlay isn't even double figures in terms of millions. Any transfer upwards of £10m, Spurs must announce to the Stock Exchange and there has been no listing of this transfer."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/7807491.stm