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England haven’t had much to shout about in recent encounters with Germany, and this time they have come out second best in the battle for the allegiance of one of the hottest young talents in the German Bundesliga, attacking midfielder Lewis Holtby, currently causing a bit of a stir on loan at Mainz from Schalke. His progress hasn’t gone unnoticed by Germany coach, Joachim Loew, who handed the Under 21s’captain his first start for the full German national team against Sweden last week, which ended any remote chance of him wearing the Three Lions’ jersey. After playing for Germany from Under 18 level upwards, having lived there all his life, and England’s traditional preference for physique over intelligence, it is easy to see why he opted for Germany, despite interest from Fabio Capello and a small group of England supporters eager for new talent to rejuvenate the squad following a dire World Cup.

Holtby is left-footed and can play out wide or in the hole and measures 1.76 m (5ft 8ins) and weighs a meagre 72kg (11st 4lbs). He possesses a quick pair of feet, decent pace, excellent technique and a very good football brain, all of which has led to comparisons with compatriot Mesut Ozil. Holtby is not a natural goalscorer, averaging 1 in 7 games, but it is his prolific assists record that is his main attraction. Like Ozil, he has the vision for killer, defence-splitting through balls, often without needing a touch to control the ball.

If you aren’t a follower of German football, the Lewis Holtby story might have escaped your attention. He was born in Erkelenz, Germany on 19/9/1990 to an English father and German mother. His father, Chris, is a former soldier from Liverpool, who was stationed at Rheindalen RAF base Moenchengladbach, and is a huge Everton supporter who succeeded in making his son a loyal Toffees follower from afar. Lewis has stated that it would be a dream come true to play for the Goodison Park outfit, in spite of flattering interest from Arsenal and Manchester United, amongst other admirers. Unfortunately for Evertonians, the next royal blue shirt Holtby will pull on will probably be that of parent club Schalke, who will surely recall him when his loan spell at Mainz ends at the season’s end. How the Gelsenkirchen-based club and manager Felix Magath must wish they could call on the 20 year-old now after their toils in the league this season.

His first professional club in 2004, at the age of eleven, was Borussia Moenchengladbach, where he stayed until 2004, when he was released for reasons that an English club would probably come up with, being too small and too slow- a move that they may well live to regret now. Upon that rejection, he decided to try his luck at the more modest club Alemannia Aachen on the border with Belgium and the Netherlands. There, he made his first team debut in the second division on the last day of the 2007/08 season and became a first team fixture in the following campaign, with 8 goals and 10 assists in 32 games earning him a move to the top flight with Schalke in the summer of 2009.

Holtby found it hard to break into the first team at the Veltins-Arena, making only 9 appearances in the first half of the season, laying on 2 assists. After the winter break, he was loaned to Bochum to get more top flight experience, but despite 2 goals and 2 assists in 14 appearances, he couldn’t save Bochum from relegation, and his loan was curtailed at the end of that 2009/10 season.

After a squad overhaul at this summer at Schalke, Holtby found himself out on loan again, this time at Mainz under young coach Thomas Tuchel. He can’t have imagined what would happen next, with Mainz equalling the Bundesliga record 7 consecutive wins from the start of the season, and Holtby weighing in with 2 goals and 7 assists in 13 games. Forming part of a young attacking ‘rockstar’ trio with Andre Schuerrle (due to join Leverkusen at the season’s end) and the Hungarian Adam Szalai, which has wowed the crowds at the Stadion am Bruchweg, Holtby has played his way into the reckoning for the national team, and put him on the radar of the big clubs.

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Holtby would probably command a transfer fee around the 10 million euro mark if Schalke are willing to sell, and he probably needs to play in the Champions League to test himself at the top level, which is unlikely at Schalke next season unless they show a vast improvement in the league. He is a very level-headed character who plays with a smile on his face and for his teammates. All in all, he is a great ambassador for the new generation of young German flair players and is well worth keeping your eye on for the future.

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Gerard Houllier refused to be too downhearted even after his Aston Villa team's Carling Cup hopes for another season had been ended by Birmingham City at the quarter-final stage.

Last year's beaten finalists lost 2-1 at St Andrew's but Houllier is convinced his team's fortunes are just about to change.

He said:"We are going through a rough period at the moment. When that happens you need to stick together, stay strong mentally and not have a 'blame others' culture.

"We now need to focus on the next game which is Liverpool and prepare for it. We need points and we need to keep playing well and hope at some stage there will be a click and we'll get the momentum of two or three wins because we deserve that.

"I won't hide it – it hurts after the Carling Cup defeat because I thought we were the better side. We played good football. I don't want to take anything away from Alex (McLeish) and his side. They won but I thought we deserved to win as much as they did.

"I was extremely disappointed both for the fans and for the players. I think we are improving, we are playing better, it's just at the moment the goals are not going into the back of the net. Also, we made a couple of mistakes which cost us.

"The content of the game was good. The quality of the performance was good. That's why the players are a bit stunned. We were on top of them at some stages but it was just a shame we couldn't score the second goal because I thought that would be the end of it.

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"I was expecting extra-time and I thought physically we would find the opening. In football you need to score goals – we are improving and playing better football but we also need to get results.

"To get results we need at some stages in the game not to give the ball away cheaply and not make mistakes – which we will eradicate. But we also need more of a cutting edge and to be more clinical at times."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

17-year-old Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku has revealed that he has turned down a move to both Chelsea and Arsenal in the past, but is now ready to head to the Premier League. Lukaku claims that the Blues and Gunners both approached him in his early teens, but decided to stay in Belgium. However, Anderlecht are now resigned to losing one of the hottest properties in European football and a move looks likely in the summer when Lukaku turns 18.

Speaking to Goal.com, Lukaku said “Chelsea and Arsenal tried to sign me when I was 13, 14. Chelsea is my favourite team. I have always said it and I have never hidden it. But it is not because Chelsea is my favourite team that I have to go there. There is also Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. These big five are very interesting. Tottenham are also a good club.”

The top teams in the Premier League, alongside the biggest clubs in Europe, will be closely monitoring Romelu Lukaku’s future in the short term and will be looking to lure him to their club. It is likely that a bid in the region of £25 million will be needed to prize him away from Anderlecht, a huge sum of money for a player so young, but his emerging reputation already precedes him.

Lukaku is a presence up front, standing at 6ft 3in tall and making him adept at playing the lone striking role. He has scored 33 goals in 76 appearances for Anderlecht and became the youngest ever top scorer in the Belgian league last season when he netted 15 times.

Romelu has even likened himself to Didier Drogba, stating that “I looked up to Cristiano Ronaldo and then it was always [Didier] Drogba. As I understand more and more about football I see the qualities I have and I can see myself in him [Drogba]. I have almost the same qualities and I want to follow in his footsteps.”

The chase for Lukaku’s signature in the summer is likely to be a frantic one with all the big players from Europe sure to be involved. Chelsea would love to snare him as a long term replacement for Didier Drogba, but Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid will have other ideas.

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The wretched run continues for Gerard Houllier’s men after a disastrous 4-0 defeat this afternoon.

Aston Villa fans have every right to show concern as the defeat sees them precariously close to the bottom three, as we reach the half way point of the season. You do sense that the French boss will have to make some changes in the January window to inject some fresh blood into this confidence shot squad.

So how do Aston Villa fans feel about today, and what are the five things we learnt from Houllier’s men this afternoon?

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Borussia Dortmund’s Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa, who broke a bone in his right foot at the Asian Cup, is heading home for surgery.

Kagawa broke the bone in his foot in his team’s semi-final against South Korea forcing him to miss Saturday’s final against Australia.

He is expected to miss the rest of the season with the injury.

“He is on his way to Japan for surgery,” Dortmund said in a statement.

“It was his wish and the club agreed. It is not yet decided when he will return to Germany.”

Bundesliga leaders Dortmund said it was unlikely the player would return before the end of the season.

“There are variations in this injury but I do not know of any case that a player came back earlier than three months,” said Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp.

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Kagawa, snapped up in the close season from Japan’s second division for 300,000 pounds, has been crucial in Dortmund’s spectacular run this season with his team eight points clear at the top of the table.

The 21-year-old has scored eight league goals in his first season in Germany and his value is now estimated at about six million pounds.

Bottom of the table Wolves produced the shock of the season by dramatically ending Manchester United’s 29 match unbeaten run with a 2-1 win.

Nani’s quick-fire opener seemed certain to signal another easy ride as the English Premier League’s top dogs faced its bottom side, until George Elokobi’s powerful header and a close range finish from Kevin Doyle changed the picture at both ends of the table.

A first minute Nenad Milijas effort gave early intent that the strugglers were not prepared to roll over without showing the fight that had already seen Manchester City and Chelsea leave Molineux empty handed this season.

But by the third minute, United had snuffed out that optimism as Nani punished a lapse from Elokobi to seize on Darren Fletcher’s lofted pass.

The Portuguese winger effortlessly drifted in from the right of the area to unleash a powerful left foot shot that beat Wayne Hennessey at his near post.

Elokobi’s error was soon forgotten as the muscular Cameroon defender made amends with a 10th minute equaliser that brought the contest back to life.

Having sent a bullet header past United’s defence in a Carling Cup clash between the two teams in October, Elokobi beat Nemanja Vidic to meet Matt Jarvis’ pinpoint cross and plant his header firmly past Edwin Van Der Sar’s despairing dive.

Nani’s 30-yard free-kick then skimmed the roof of Hennessey’s net as the Red Devils continued to pose the home defence plenty of problems before Jamie O’Hara’s snapshot almost tested Van Der Sar’s reflexes.

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The Dutch keeper was rooted to the spot though five minutes before the break as Doyle appeared to get the faintest of final touches ahead of Elokobi to bundle home Milijas’ 40th minute short free-kick from the right corner of the box.

O’Hara then chose placement rather than power when set up by Jarvis’ neat foot work before Paul Scholes slid his shot wide and Nani blazed over in a fractious second half as United’s attempts to preserve their unblemished record evaporated.

Jermaine Beckford’s concise first-half double allowed Everton to cruise to an easy win over Sunderland.The 27-year-old opened the scoring in the eighth minute and hit another after latching onto a half-chance just before the break to double his tally and Everton’s lead.Sunderland started with Simon Mignolet in goal after regular number one Craig Gordon was kept out with a knee injury. Everton put him to the test early as Marouane Fellaini went close from a well-worked corner kick routine. With just eight minutes on the clock Sunderland were behind as that early pressure turned into a well-deserved Beckford goal. Leon Osman played a fine through ball which the former Leeds United striker latched onto before rounding the goalkeeper and slotting home.Louis Saha passed a late fitness test to start and Everton were glad he did as he nearly set up their second. His skilful flick sent Beckford clear and his shot only just went wide of the target.Despite being under the cosh for most of the half, Sunderland almost levelled the scores on the half-hour mark. Stephane Sessegnon unleashed a powerful effort from the edge of the box that sent Tim Howard scrambling and the American goalkeeper made a wonderful fingertip save to deflect the effort into the woodwork.Everton had won just one of their five previous Premier League games but were playing expansive football. That lead was doubled just before the break when Beckford scored his second with a predatory finish. After good work from Mikel Arteta on the wing, Beckford shielded the ball before firing home from close range.Beckford had a golden chance to complete his first Premier League hat-trick just after half-time, but he could only blaze over after more fine work from Osman.Everton continued to dominate throughout the second half, but were unable to add gloss to their deserved victory.

Twitter is the strangest of strange beasts. Unlike any other social networking tool or resource it genuinely has the power to bring supporters a glimpse into the lives of a variety of sportsmen that we as fans may never have the chance to meet.

It is a rare view, and whilst the site has gone a long way to breaking down that wall between players and fans, is this a good thing?

When Danny Welbeck starts tweeting about the adverts he has seen on television, or Glen Johnson gives constant updates as to how much ‘24’ he has been watching, questions as to why we should take such a close interest in what these players think about the most mundane of topics, inevitably rear their head.

It is not simply what is written that frustrates. When you see men capable of such incredible physical and technical feats on the pitch, unable to understand the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you’re’ or spell basic words correctly, it is hard not to lose a little respect for them.

Whilst players are not there to be judged from a grammatical point of view, it is a surprise that in a world where image is paramount, that players are not advised to check what they tweet.

Obviously the content of any such post is heavily scrutinised – just ask Darren Bent or Ryan Babel about the trouble a post can cause, yet the actual way these tweets are written is not heavily guarded.

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On the other side of the coin, you find yourself reaching a point where you become overly impressed when a player uses a word that an 11 year-old student should comfortably be able to incorporate into their written work. A lucid and intelligent footballer is, and should not be, a rarity.

Of course it can work both ways. Since Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere joined Twitter I have been impressed by his eloquence – his sensible, well constructed posts hinting at a maturity beyond his 19 years of age.

Wilshere’s words over the last two weeks have been particularly impressive. Despite hearing some Arsenal fans lament the players’ constant apologising for defeats, Wilshere’s carry on regardless attitude has given some Gunners followers a welcome boost in amongst a series of disappointing results over the last two weeks.

In fact, whilst his captain and manager have bemoaned poor officiating and a string of injuries, Wilshere’s tweets have been optimistic and upbeat.

Many top players still avoid the move into social networking territory. Perhaps wisely the extra scrutiny on what they write for millions to read is something a few could do without.

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Nevertheless, the overall presence of players on the network provides something of a mixed bag. I might be in the minority, but I would far rather judge players on what I see on the pitch than what I read on the screen.

To get stuck into my powers of grammar, follow me on Twitter.

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Schalke have earned a shock trip to the DFB Pokal Cup final with a 1-0 victory over defending champions Bayern Munich on Wednesday.It was the second defeat for Bayern in the space of four days, following Saturday’s 3-1 loss at home to Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund.That result left Bayern trailing by 16 points in the league title race, effectively ending their campaign, and the German champions saw another piece of silverware slip from their grasp at home to unfancied Schalke.The win was sweet revenge for Schalke coach Felix Magath, who was sacked by Bayern in 2007 despite leading the club to the league and cup double in consecutive seasons.Veteran forward Raul was the hero for the visitors, nodding past Bayern goalkeeper Thomas Kraft in the 15th minute following a well-worked Jefferson Farfan corner.Arjen Robben and Bastian Schweinsteiger came close for Bayern in the second half, but the German giants could not find an equaliser and must now turn their attention to the Champions League if they are to have any chance of collecting a trophy this season.Schalke, who have struggled for consistency in the top-flight and sit six points clear of the relegation zone, will face second-division club MSV Duisburg in the final at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.

Newcastle United are on the road to Stoke City in a clash between two teams almost guaranteed to avoid the drop from the Premier League.Neither is mathematically safe but Newcastle, sitting in 10th and five points clear, and Stoke, currently 12th and three points away, will not be feeling too uncomfortable.Stoke are on a high after their FA Cup quarter-final win over West Ham United and with Bolton awaiting in the semi-final.But aside from their glorious cup run, Tony Pulis’ side have struggled in recent league outings and slumped to a 3-0 loss at West Ham before their FA Cup meeting.They have lost 11 of their 15 games on the road and are without striker Mamady Sidibe for the rest of the season after he ruptured his Achilles tendon.Stoke’s struggles for goals are underlined by defender Robert Huth topping their scoring charts with six, although striker Kenwyne Jones has found the net on five occasions.Newcastle have not had such difficulty finding the net, but the issue for manager Alan Pardew has been down the other end, with Newcastle having kept just eight clean sheets in all competitions.On-loan midfielder Stephen Ireland is a chance to make his debut for the club while Joey Barton is also in line for a return from injury.Left-back Jose Enrique is in doubt after coming off with a hamstring injury during the loss at Everton.Although relatively safe, the Potters need to capitalise on the confidence of their Cup run by gathering some points on the league table.Newcastle will have similar confidence of gaining a result out of this match, particularly if Barton and Ireland are fit and in the team at Britannia Stadium.A win for either side would boost their chances of finishing in the top half but a poor result should not have great implications for either team given their current positions.