Schalke star Holtby refuses to rule out Premier League move

Oct 21, 2012 11:45:00 AM

Goal.com understands Liverpool want to sign the Germany Under-21s captain when his contract expires next summer, but the Bundesliga player has a soft spot for city rivals Everton

Schalke youngster Lewis Holtby has refused to rule out a move to the Premier League in the future, suggesting Everton or Arsenal could be two possible options for him.

The German Under-21s captain - who could have played for either England or Germany - is nearing the end of his contract with Schalke, and Goal.com understands Liverpool are interested in securing his signature.

However, the 22-year-old creative force could well end up playing for bitter Merseyside rivals Everton, such is his love for David Moyes' side. His Liverpool-born father Chris, a former English soldier, is a lifelong Everton fan who passed his passion on to his son.

"We will see when it happens. Everton are close to my heart and I always loved watching Arsenal because of their style of play and some of the players they've had," he told Mirror Sport.

Holtby's Schalke contract is set to expire in the summer of 2013, and if he decides to move away from the Bundesliga, a host of clubs will be ready to snap up a bargain deal.

And the midfielder revealed he could have been starring for Roy Hodgson's national side, had the FA approached him before he began playing for Germany's youth sides.

"I was brought up in Germany, but I always supported England because of my dad.

"Nobody from the English FA got in contact and it was probably too late anyway. Once I played for Germany Under-18s, that was probably it – I would have felt a traitor changing shirts."

Holtby's eligibility for England expired in June last year, but Arsenal fans will get a taste of the creative midfielder's talents when they host Schalke in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

And despite opting for Germany, Holtby can remember the pain of England's defeat by his chosen side at Euro 96: "I still have tears in my eyes at the thought of England losing the penalty shoot-out to Germany.

"I played my first game for Germany with the Under-18s in 2007 and at first it did feel a bit strange. My dad started calling me 'Fritz'!"

Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets
Sign up today with Coral and get a £50 FREE bet - no strings attached!
Sign up today with BetVictor and get a £25 FREE BET!

play

open

Live!

Real Madrid press conference - LIVE!

Catch the latest news from the Spanish capital as Jose Mourinho's time at Santiago Bernabeu nears its end. Get involved by sending us your thoughts via Twitter or Facebook! Hosted by Joe Wright.

6:32 PM BST

Club president Florentino Perez will lead proceedings tonight, with the press conference due to start properly at 20:00 CET. We'll have all the latest from the event as well as all the fall-out from any potential important revelations (which, you feel, might just include something to do with the man below...)

6:30 PM BST

Good evening and welcome to Goal's LIVE! coverage of Real Madrid's press conference from the Spanish capital. Could this be the end of Jose Mourinho's tenure at the club? Stay with us for all the latest!

11:45 PM BST

And on that note I will leave you all! I won't be back next week for another run of the Goal LIVE blog for the Champions League final, but fear not as the legendary Mark Doyle will be entrusted with the role of taking you through all the twists and turns as they happen at Wembley!

I've been Livio Caferoglu on a night in which Chelsea have been crowned European title victors for a successive campaign, and it's good night to you all. Ciao!

11:35 PM BST

More Benfica reaction now - this is what midfielder Nemanja Matic told reporters after the Eagles crashed to a heartbreaking 92nd-minute defeat at the Amsterdam ArenA earlier this evening:

"We played a good game. We played very well, we had more possession and played dangerously in Chelsea's box, but we lacked luck in the end. I can only congratulate Chelsea for the victory, but we didn't lack quality. I still think we played well, we were the best team. We had more control and opportunities to score, but had no luck. The best team doesn't always win."

11:30 PM BST

And last but CERTAINLY not least in the Chelsea corner, it's Branislav Ivanovic whose set-piece heroics in stoppage time clinched a second straight European title for the English giants - courtesy of ITV!

"It's a great feeling. This team deserved this, because we have had a very difficult season and a lot of games. In the end, today was a very hard game and Benfica played very well. But we scored from set pieces and work very hard preparing that part of our game. We deserve that trophy."

Inside Goal.Com

Bayern's jinx - CL final referee Nicola Rizzoli
Goal takes a look at the career of the Italian arbiter to date following Uefa's decision to appoint the 41-year-old for Saturday's showpiece at Wembley
Goal's Serie A awards for 2012-13
Goal crowns the best and worst from Italy over the course of the season
2012-13: The season that ended an era
A frenzy of tears, salutes and send-offs have marked the finale of the campaign of goodbyes as the Premier League draws a line under its first defining generation
Now or never for Wenger to seal legacy
The Gunners sealed a place in next season's Champions League with victory at Newcastle on Sunday - and must now spend money to improve the squad over the summer
And Goal.com's World Player of the Week is ...
Check out which star man gets the nod from our panel of experts this week ...