Lewis Holtby has revealed he chose to move to Tottenham because he believes the club are one of the biggest in Europe, as the midfielder prepares to make the move to White Hart Lane amidst interest from Arsenal and Liverpool.

Holtby's signature was sought by numerous Premier League clubs as he entered the final six months of his contract with Schalke, after putting in top class performances in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League over the past two seasons.

And while Liverpool had reportedly made a move to secure the 22 year old's signature, and Arsenal have long been tracking the star, he said that he couldn't say no to Andre Villas-Boas as he prepares to move to the Premier League at the end of the season.

"I simply had to take the offer from Tottenham," he said, according to Goal.com. "New things don't scare me, they excite me. In my opinion Tottenham is a big club in Europe.

"Tottenham have belonged to the top five in England since many years and they only missed out on the Champions League because Chelsea won the cup last year."

Lewis Holtby
Lewis Holtby says he couldn't say no to Tottenham.

Holtby also insisted he would have stayed at his current club if Tottenham hadn't come in with a deal, further asserting the fact that he wanted a move to Spurs.

"Without Tottenham's offer I would have signed at Schalke. I can only repeat that Horst Heldt made a very good offer," he explained. "I believe that I have a good relation to the fans, because I have always been authentic and honest. Now they can decide on their own how to react."

Tottenham have so far had a very successful transfer window, acquiring Holtby over interest from Arsenal and Liverpool and also landing long-term target Ezekiel Fryers from Standard Liege.

The side were unable to agree a fee with Manchester United for the 20 year old in June as he came to the end of his contract, and through the deal reports are speculating that Daniel Levy saved around £3 million in waiting the six months.

Manchester United FC