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

[8] 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.

[10][8] 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.

[8] 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.

[18] 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.

[4] 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.

[28] He made his Spurs debut two days later, coming off the bench in the 71st minute to replace Clint Dempsey in a 1–1 draw with Norwich City away at Carrow Road.

Holtby scored his first Tottenham goal during the club's opening match of the following season on 29 August 2013, finding the back of the net from 25 yards (23 m) in a 3–0 Europa League play-off round win over Dinamo Tbilisi.

[35][34] Upon joining Fulham, Holtby told the club's official website that he was motivated to help them survive relegation and play his way into Germany's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad.

[38] Two weeks later, Holtby was reunited with former Schalke coach Felix Magath when the German was appointed as new club manager following the sacking of René Meulensteen.

However, having struggled to make an impact at White Hart Lane with Spurs, and after the club signed Benjamin Stambouli from Montpellier, Holtby elected to return to Germany to join Hamburg on loan the following month.

[44][45] Despite breaking his collarbone during the Rückrunde, Holtby made 22 Bundesliga appearances in his debut season for Hamburg and started in both legs of the club's relegation playoff victory over Karlsruher SC.

[57][58] Holtby made his 300th senior career appearance on 1 April 2017, and marked the occasion by netting an extra-time winner in a 2–1 man of the match performance against Köln.

He returned to the starting line-up following the appointment of Christian Titz and scored five times in the final eight matches of the season against Stuttgart, Schalke, Freiburg, Wolfsburg and Gladbach, between which he also made his 100th league appearance for the club in a 3–0 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt.

[68] He ended as Hamburg's top goalscorer for the season with six goals, despite only playing 16 matches and on 24 May, with his contract set to expire, signed a one-year extension on a significant pay-cut in order to remain with the club.

[71] Towards the end of the season, and following revelations that Holtby's contract with Hamburg would not be renewed, a group of supporters started an online petition, which gained thousands of signatures, in an attempt to convince the club to extend his stay.

[73][74] Following his release from Hamburg, Holtby continued to train with Rot-Weiss Essen and, on 19 September 2019, he returned to England to sign for Championship side Blackburn Rovers.

[88][89] While on loan with Bundesliga side Mainz, Holtby caught the attention of national team manager Joachim Löw who named him in the senior squad for the first time for a friendly against Sweden on 17 November 2010.

[13] He was named in the starting line-up and played 77 minutes before being replaced by Mainz teammate Schürrle in a 0–0 draw, later receiving the man of the match award for his performance.

[91] Despite having played for their Premier League rivals Tottenham and Fulham, Holtby is a lifelong Everton fan, an affiliation he developed as a result of his English father's support of the club.