Everton target staying put

(GSM) – Everton target Lewis Holtby has stated that he is loving life at Schalke.

The 19-year-old winger has been linked with a move to the Merseyside giants, despite only joining Schalke in the summer from Alemannia Aachen.

Holtby is actually a life-long Everton fan due to his English father, but he shows few signs of wanting to leave Germany, who he has chosen to represent ahead of England.

“My mother is German but my father is originally from England, got me into football and he is a big Everton fan and I remember in 1995 when they last won the FA Cup,” Holtby revealed.

Schalke’s recent financial difficulties have seen a number of their players linked with moves away from Gelsenkirchen – but Holtby appears more than happy with how he has started life with the club.

“My goal when I first arrived was to just get used to life in the Bundesliga, but I am young and still have a long way to go,” he added on the club’s official website.

“For me I need to improve, work hard in every training session and try to get a permanent place in the first team – but I am realistic.”

Holtby, who has represented Germany at youth level throughout his career this far, has also been linked with a switch of allegiance to England, but he insists this will not be happening.

“A lot of my relatives live there so my relationship to England is big, but since I sang the German national anthem with the Under 18s – I decided that Germany is the country I want to play for,” he said.