Lewis Holtby (born 18 September 1990) is a German footballer who plays as a midfielder for Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga. He played for Alemannia Aachen before he joined Schalke 04 in 2009, and has been loaned out to VfL Bochum and Mainz 05. With an English father and a German mother, Holtby was eligible to play for England before he was capped for Germany.

Early career

Holtby began his career at age four with Sparta Gerderath. When he was eleven years old he moved to Borussia Mönchengladbach. Mönchengladbach eventually released the player for what they saw as having physical deficiencies, which included being too small and too slow. After leaving Borussia Mönchengladbach, Holtby joined Alemannia Aachen.

Aachen

Holtby was promoted to the Alemannia Aachen first team squad by caretaker manager Jörg Schmadtke. He made his first appearance in the 2007–08 season when he was substituted on in the 80th minute for Mirko Casper in a 2–2 draw against FC St. Pauli. For the rest of the season he only made one more appearance, a 1–3 loss on the last match day to TuS Koblenz.

He scored his first goal for Alemannia Aachen on 5 December 2008 against 1860 Munich. On 15 February, he scored his first brace in a 6–2 home victory against 1. FC Nuremberg.

Schalke

Holtby left Alemannia Aachen after five years and signed a four-year contract with Schalke 04 until 30 June 2013. On 29 January 2010, he was loaned out to VfL Bochum to get more playing experience.

In May 2010, Holtby returned to Schalke 04 and on 28 May 2010, he was loaned out to FSV Mainz 05 for the 2010–11 season. On 18 March 2011, Horst Heldt announced the return of Holtby to FC Schalke 04 on 30 June 2011. On 13 August 2011, Holtby scored his first goal for Schalke in a 5–1 win over 1. FC Köln.