Spurs Close To Lewis Holtby Deal Before Thursday Deadline?

Drifter

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Tottenham are closing in on a deal to bring Germany international Lewis Holtby to White Hart Lane now rather than in the summer.

He agreed to move in July from Bundlesliga side Schalke but now talks are ongoing over a £1.5m move to allow the 22-year-old to join Spurs before Thursday's transfer deadline.
Who is Lewis Holtby?



Holtby, who has a German mother and an English father, joined Schalke from second-tier Alemannia Aachen in 2009.

He has won three caps for Germany.

The former Germany Under-21 captain has made 75 appearances for Schalke, scoring 11 times.

He played at the weekend in Schalke's goalless draw at relegation candidates Augsburg.

Holtby, who was scheduled to join on a free transfer before the latest round of negotiations, had also been linked with Arsenal and Liverpool.

He has admitted that, as a child, he dreamed of playing for England but once he was called up to the Germany Under-21 side a sense of loyalty meant he continued his journey to their senior team.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21235461
 
Christ, what a fantastic deal that is
 
Can he play any good in a pure striker's role? He's pretty talented by all accounts but the common sense would tell you that everything they need is a top, proven striker.

Not criticizing the move as it can prove fruitful but I do think they should go for a goalscorer.
 
Sojiro said:
So he plays as a no 10 correct? Does that mean Sigurdsson and Dempsey have fallen out of favour?
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Sort of but I imagine they just want options. Spurs have needed a good passing midfielder to replace Modric all season and if Levy hadn't totally fecked up with Moutinho in the summer they'd have one.

Porto don't need to sell Moutinho anymore so they've gone for Holtby instead, even if they are slightly different players.

Dempsey can play wide and Sigurdsson can play deeper anyway plus it's a squad game so I'm sure they can find enough game time to fit Holyby, Sigurdsson, Dempsey, Dembele, Sandro and Parker into 3 spots.
 
Tomuś said:
Can he play any good in a pure striker's role? He's pretty talented by all accounts but the common sense would tell you that everything they need is a top, proven striker.

Not criticizing the move as it can prove fruitful but I do think they should go for a goalscorer.
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Nah, youll probably see him play out wide and in centre mid at various points but he'll offer pretty much nothing up top. Spurs always seem to prioritise getting the best deal over adding the right players to the squad. Holtby's the right player in the sense that he's good enough and he's available at a good price but it's absurd to buy him after Dempsey and Sigurdsson.
 
Brwned said:
Nah, youll probably see him play out wide and in centre mid at various points but he'll offer pretty much nothing up top. Spurs always seem to prioritise getting the best deal over adding the right players to the squad. Holtby's the right player in the sense that he's good enough and he's available at a good price but it's absurd to buy him after Dempsey and Sigurdsson.
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They probably just need both a striker and a playmaker. Dempsey and Sigurdsson were always square pegs in round holes for me, not a huge fan of the goalscoring/driving run kind of number 10, especially when it's not something they're getting at all from the wings with Bale/Lennon, they'd have been better off replacing VDV with a like for like.

They have been linked with Leandro Damiao for a while now, wouldn't be surprised if he moved in the summer. If they get UCL football I'm sure they'll sign a proper striker for next season.
 
I feel like mangoes but I am going to buy bananas as they are dozen a penny. At the end of the day, they are both fruit.

:rolleyes:
 
Brwned said:
Nah, youll probably see him play out wide and in centre mid at various points but he'll offer pretty much nothing up top. Spurs always seem to prioritise getting the best deal over adding the right players to the squad. Holtby's the right player in the sense that he's good enough and he's available at a good price but it's absurd to buy him after Dempsey and Sigurdsson.
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There's some truth in that, but it's still a bit harsh considering that Spurs have progressed to finishing 4th twice in the last 3 seasons and are in with a decent chance of doing so again this season.

Without a sugar daddy, and with much less income than at least 5 other Prem clubs, Spurs have had little choice but to generally pursue a policy of buying low and, when necessary, selling high. And generally speaking we've re-invested the proceeds in the squad (e.g. Bale, Sandro, Llloris, Dembele and Vertonghen) ... and latterly in the club's new training complex.

Your comment has more truth when it comes to strikers, which remains the one big gap in our squad.
 
GlastonSpur said:
There's some truth in that, but it's still a bit harsh considering that Spurs have progressed to finishing 4th twice in the last 3 seasons and are in with a decent chance of doing so again this season.

Without a sugar daddy, and with much less income than at least 5 other Prem clubs, Spurs have had little choice but to generally pursue a policy of buying low and, when necessary, selling high. And generally speaking we've re-invested the proceeds in the squad (e.g. Bale, Sandro, Llloris, Dembele and Vertonghen) ... and latterly in the club's new training complex.

Your comment has more truth when it comes to strikers, which remains the one big gap in our squad.
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Why is Bale in that example of recent reinvestment into the squad? He's been there for nearly 6 years. Do you just take every opportunity to shoehorn his name in?
 
Is it just me, or does anyone else think there are a lot more of these deals happening, where a player is going to run down his contract for a Bosman and ultimately is sold for a nominal amount? It seems that way.
 
The Neviller said:
Why is Bale in that example? He's been there for nearly 6 years.
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Sold Carrick for 18.6m, signed Bale for 7m a year later ... a close enough example of trying to sell high and buy low.
 
GlastonSpur said:
Sold Carrick for 18.6m, signed Bale for 7m a year later ... a close enough example of trying to sell high and buy low.
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£7m for a 17 year old isn't buying low! That's a big amount for a teenage fullback, which is what he was. Add in the fact that the fee was originally supposed to be £10m, and was reduced because Southampton were skint and Levy is a cheeky cnut, and Bale is anything but an example of buying low.
 
The Neviller said:
... Bale is anything but an example of buying low.
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I can't take this comment seriously.

Besides, buying low is not just about established players. It extends to young players with obvious potential to become very good.
 
Brophs said:
Is it just me, or does anyone else think there are a lot more of these deals happening, where a player is going to run down his contract for a Bosman and ultimately is sold for a nominal amount? It seems that way.
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Yep. I said it a long time ago that it will be a new trend.

With transfer fees going through the roof clubs are prepared to wait rather than pay huge money for good players. It's the only way to bring transfer fees down. Also players are willing to run down their contracts as it gives the power back to them.

In the last few years we've seen great players like Nasri, RVP, Ozil and Llorente go in this fashion. And we will see more.
 
Sojiro said:
So he plays as a no 10 correct? Does that mean Sigurdsson and Dempsey have fallen out of favour?
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I think he's more of a creative midfielder - or so I've read. It also seems this season he has really struggled.

I think he's more of a Sigurdsson option than Dempsey, who they seem to think is a striker.

Maybe he'll link with Dembele in CM?
 
From an American perspective, it's weird that clubs are so resistant to losing players for nothing. American sports teams regularly let contracts run out when they can't afford the increased wages a player wants or he wants to go somewhere else. It's also weird that it is so commonly accepted that an unhappy player leads to poor performance and thus you don't want a player in his last year anyway. Over here, we have the phenomenon of players performing better than ever during their last year, in an effort to earn a big contract from a new team.

The first point can be partly explained by the closed system in the US that somewhat insulates teams from financial ruin but the second point is puzzling to me. From my perspective, a player who wants out and plays poorly/ disrupts clubhouse harmony when forced to stay is viewed as unprofessional and turns off potential suitors.
 
GlastonSpur said:
I can't take this comment seriously.

Besides, buying low is not just about established players. It extends to young players with obvious potential to become very good.
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How in gods name is £10m for a teenage leftback an example of buying low? The fact he's now worth a lot more is besides the point. £10m is a hefty fee for a seasoned fullback, let alone a 17 year old one.
 
Completely forgot Spurs had Sigurdsson in their side, what happened to him? Must be be struggling if he can't get in the team ahead of Demspey.
 
The Neviller said:
How in gods name is £10m for a teenage leftback an example of buying low? The fact he's now worth a lot more is besides the point. £10m is a hefty fee for a seasoned fullback, let alone a 17 year old one.
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Actually it's not beside the point, it is the point. Buying low isn't about meeting some arbitrary standard of what "low" is, it's about buying an asset that you think will 1) be worth more to the club than it costs or 2) rise in sale value to allow for a sufficient profit
 
Eboue said:
Actually it's not beside the point, it is the point. Buying low isn't about meeting some arbitrary standard of what "low" is, it's about buying an asset that you think will 1) be worth more to the club than it costs or 2) rise in sale value to allow for a sufficient profit
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So Ronaldo, a world record fee for a teenage footballer, is an example of buying low then?
 
I think you're having trouble understanding the concept. Transfer fees change over time, financial situations change over time, different clubs can afford different things. There is never going to be a numerical cutoff point of buying low. It has to do with future projections.
 
The Neviller said:
How in gods name is £10m for a teenage leftback an example of buying low? The fact he's now worth a lot more is besides the point. £10m is a hefty fee for a seasoned fullback, let alone a 17 year old one.
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The original deal was for just £5m up front, with another £5m contingent on various factors - factors that mostly amounted (number of appearances etc) to his not proving to be a total flop in the Prem.

At the time, even at 17, Bale was showing huge potential ... which is why Fergie tried to sign him The whole deal was very low risk, with a better than good chance of proving to be a huge bargain.

Despite your strange assertion to the contrary, Bale is an excellent example of buying low.
 
Bale was a normal fee, it wasn't high it wasn't low. He wasn't proven but you could have assumed from day one that he wouldn't turn out to be a poor player and at some point he'll easily be worth around £10m given market prices. He turned out to be much, much better than that.

I felt Holtby was a perfect fit for Everton, such a shame they didn't go for him.
 
Eboue said:
From an American perspective, it's weird that clubs are so resistant to losing players for nothing. American sports teams regularly let contracts run out when they can't afford the increased wages a player wants or he wants to go somewhere else. It's also weird that it is so commonly accepted that an unhappy player leads to poor performance and thus you don't want a player in his last year anyway. Over here, we have the phenomenon of players performing better than ever during their last year, in an effort to earn a big contract from a new team.

The first point can be partly explained by the closed system in the US that somewhat insulates teams from financial ruin but the second point is puzzling to me. From my perspective, a player who wants out and plays poorly/ disrupts clubhouse harmony when forced to stay is viewed as unprofessional and turns off potential suitors.
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Spot on.
 
Ole's_toe_poke said:
Yep. I said it a long time ago that it will be a new trend.

With transfer fees going through the roof clubs are prepared to wait rather than pay huge money for good players. It's the only way to bring transfer fees down. Also players are willing to run down their contracts as it gives the power back to them.

In the last few years we've seen great players like Nasri, RVP, Ozil and Llorente go in this fashion. And we will see more.
Click to expand...
I'm surprised that transfer fees are still around. I'd thought by now that players would sign 2-3 year contracts and just be expected to fulfil them then auctioning themselves off to the highest bidder.
 
Eboue said:
From an American perspective, it's weird that clubs are so resistant to losing players for nothing. American sports teams regularly let contracts run out when they can't afford the increased wages a player wants or he wants to go somewhere else. It's also weird that it is so commonly accepted that an unhappy player leads to poor performance and thus you don't want a player in his last year anyway. Over here, we have the phenomenon of players performing better than ever during their last year, in an effort to earn a big contract from a new team.

The first point can be partly explained by the closed system in the US that somewhat insulates teams from financial ruin but the second point is puzzling to me. From my perspective, a player who wants out and plays poorly/ disrupts clubhouse harmony when forced to stay is viewed as unprofessional and turns off potential suitors.
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I think with players earning more and more as well as significant agent fees, transfer fees will go extinct at some point. These days when you're a PL club and you buy a player for £5m you have to factor in the fact that he'll cost you twice as much over a 4-year deal with wages and agent fees, perhaps even more. I find it funny when people say that someone like Sneijder would be a cheap punt at £6m, completely neglecting the fact that he's going to cost you another £15m+ over a 3-year deal.
 
peterstorey said:
I'm surprised that transfer fees are still around. I'd thought by now that players would sign 2-3 year contracts and just be expected to fulfil them then auctioning themselves off to the highest bidder.
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It'll happen one day or another. We only need a few more high profile players to run down their deals to expose the opportunities it arises, Ballack did it.

Then again the likes of Porto, Benfica and Ajax will be seriously fecked when it happens. It's feasible in England but not in smaller leagues.
 
There will always be transfer fees. Say Kieran Gibbs becomes the best LB in the world next week. If Barcelona offers. 60 million and he wants to go, why wouldn't it happen if all parties were happy with it?
 
Eboue said:
There will always be transfer fees. Say Kieran Gibbs becomes the best LB in the world next week. If Barcelona offers. 60 million and he wants to go, why wouldn't it happen if all parties were happy with it?
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Yep. Transfer fees will remain as long as players are motivated by the desire to play at the biggest clubs and in the biggest competitions possible, as well as by money. Which, despite the overblown cynicism of some, is the case now and will probably always be the case.
 
coolredwine said:
I would say, Dempsey is not good enough for a side competing for Top 4, while they need options besides Siggy as well.
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I would agree with that coolredwine but it seems Dempsey is preferred to Sigurdsson but that might be a case of AVB trying to play him into his Fulham form. Though like someone mentioned before its a squad game and at that price why not.
 
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