Best Alternatives to Lewis Holtby

Playing Style Analysis

Holtby is the kind of midfielder who quietly tilts games through distribution and dirty work rather than highlights—a profile that rarely gets the credit it deserves. Operating in the Eredivisie, his key passes and assists both rank in the top 20%, marking him as a genuine creative conduit for a B-tier side. His tackles won figure sits equally high, which is where the counterintuitive story lives: this isn't a soft playmaker hiding from contact, but someone who wins the ball and then uses it well. The three closest DNA matches to Lewis Holtby:

• Luciano Valente(82% match) — A Box-to-Box. Statistically, he stands out as an elite creator (1.7 key passes/90), a prolific assist provider (0.25 assists/90), penetrates with forward passing (8.3 final-third passes/90), heavily involved in play (68 touches/90) and a high-intensity presser (press score 3.3/90), constantly disrupting opposition build-up.
• Kees Smit(82% match) — A Box-to-Box. Statistically, he stands out as an elite creator (1.6 key passes/90), meticulous in distribution (88% pass accuracy), heavily involved in play (67 touches/90) and active off the ball (2.5 press score/90), contributing to defensive transitions.
• Albert Sambi Lokonga(83% match) — A Box-to-Box. Statistically, he stands out as a capable chance creator (1.3 key passes/90), a regular goalscorer (0.26 goals/90), meticulous in distribution (88% pass accuracy), wins the physical battle (56% duel success) and heavily involved in play (53 touches/90).

Similarity uses per-90 performance across playing-style dimensions. How Player DNA matching works →