Lewis Holtby is desperate to secure a move to the Premier League and will surely be cheered by a glowing reference from the man who might soon work with him at Tottenham.

Holtby’s contract with Bundesliga club Schalke expires at the end of the season and the 22-year-old midfielder, who has an English father but has been capped at senior level by Germany, is a target for Spurs.

Steffen Freund, the club’s assistant head coach, follows the game in his home country closely and believes that Holtby would adapt quickly to football in England. “For Lewis it would not be a problem because he is half-English and loves the Premier League,” said Freund. “I know him, he is the captain of the German Under-21 team and will lead them at the European Championship in Israel next summer.

“He is out of contract at the age of 22. I don’t think I have to say any more. I don’t know him well but what I can say is that he is a really good player.

“If I talk too much about him now, it will seem as though he is already a Spurs player. It is too much now but if it happens, you can ask me everything about him. I know a lot about him.”

Holtby could sign a pre-contract agreement with a club outside Germany this month and then join them in the summer. Spurs are contenders to capture him but their immediate focus is on domestic matters, with Coventry at White Hart Lane for tomorrow’s FA Cup third-round tie.

It is a repeat of the 1987 final, which Coventry won 3-2, but the Sky Blues have fallen far since then. They are now in League One and it would be one of the shocks of recent Cup history were the result to be repeated tomorrow.

A former player at Tottenham, Freund returned to the club only this summer after working with Germany’s junior teams. Such is his attachment to the competition, however, that he still feels the pain of the FA Cup semi-final in 2001.

In Glenn Hoddle’s first game as manager, Tottenham lost 2-1 to Arsenal and Freund was unable to play after sustaining an injury in training during the build-up to the game.

“We also lost in the semi-finals to Newcastle in 1999 and I have to say that I’m still disappointed,” Freund revealed. “If we could have played an FA Cup Final at Wembley . . . I can’t say nothing is bigger than that but it is definitely a fantastic moment for anyone who has played the game.

“We are strong enough now as a club to say maybe it’s time to win the FA Cup again. We have a fantastic history in the competition.”

With Tottenham pushing for a top-four finish and with the Christmas programme only just complete, head coach Andre Villas-Boas could make changes. Both Scott Parker and Benoit Assou-Ekotto are expected to start the match but defender Younes Kaboul is still at least six weeks away from a return due to knee trouble.

Kaboul has not played since the first game of the season and Freund believes that he will not now return before the middle of next month. His absence is a significant blow to the club.

Kaboul had the best season of his career last term and was arguably Spurs’s most consistent performer during Harry Redknapp’s final campaign.

“Of course, he’s frustrated,” said Freund. “He likes to be involved, especially when you are successful.

“He has a lot of leadership qualities and we are waiting to have him back as soon as possible.

“Younes is on a six-week programme from the medical staff and he is starting to work now with the fitness coaches. That is why it is getting better and that is why he will hopefully be available by the middle of February or by the end of it.”