Tottenham bid to sign Lewis Holtby this month likely to be thwarted

Schalke holding out for a decent fee

Lewis Holtby Schalke will look to sell their influential German midfielder after he made it clear he would not pen fresh terms with the club. He looked very promising during the Bundesliga outfit's Champions League matches against Arsenal and (GETTY IMAGES)

Schalke's director of sport Horst Heldt insists his club will not allow Lewis Holtby to leave for a pittance this winter as Tottenham continue to push for an immediate transfer of the Germany under-21 captain.

Holtby has already agreed a move to Spurs in the summer, when he becomes a free agent, but the Premier League club are keen on completing a transfer this winter, particularly after the loss of Sandro for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

However, two offers have been rejected by the Gelsenkirchen club.

"We are in intensive talks, but Lewis is a young Germany international with the quality that goes with it and you don't just give somebody like that away for a bargain price," said Heldt to Germany's dpa agency.

So far, Spurs' offer has not met Schalke's expectations, which is why Holtby should still be wearing Royal Blue this weekend.

And the state of limbo also means that Schalke are not yet pushing ahead with their plans to sign Michel Bastos from Lyon.

"The truth is, we are interested in him and Lyon have been informed about this, and we are in touch with the player's agent, but there is nothing more than interest at the moment," said Heldt.

"We have neither made the club an offer, nor opened up negotiations with them, and the player certainly hasn't had a medical.

"Bastos is a player who could play in many positions."

PA