Landon Donovan, Everton Interested In Possible Loan Extension

Landon Donovan’s loan at Everton is now officially over after the Toffees tied Birmingham City today 2-2 at St. Andrew’s Stadium in Birmingham. Donovan entered the game as Everton’s first substitute in the 67th minute for Ayegbeni Yakubu.

It is well known that both Donovan and Everton wish to extend his loan, but the LA Galaxy are unwilling to give up the face of American soccer for any part of the MLS regular season.

It is well known now that Landon Donovan’s stay at Everton has been a successful one. He was voted as Everton’s player of the month in January and has expressed his desire to stay with the Toffees past his current ten week loan from the LA Galaxy which is set to expire after tomorrow’s Premier League game against Birmingham City. While the Galaxy are refusing to negotiate an extension the Donovan’s loan, an impending MLS strike could change all that.

From the Everton team website:

On Friday, LA Galaxy manager Bruce Arena responded to Everton manager David Moyes’ comments expressing interest in extending Landon Donovan’s loan to the EPL club. Arena was pretty clear that Donovan would be returning to Galaxy as scheduled:

He did go on to say that if MLS did not reach a labor agreement by the time the season starts and the players strike, the Galaxy would be open to Donovan staying in the EPL, but if MLS is playing, Donovan will be with the Galaxy. Galaxy open their MLS season on March 27th, barring a players’ strike.

Landon Donovan’s loan to Everton is scheduled to end after the club’s March 13th match against Birmingham. However, Everton manager David Moyes said Friday that their is mutual interest in an extension.

This is certainly something to keep an eye on in the coming week, as both Donovan and the club have exceeded expectations since his arrival so there is a lot at stake for both sides.

Landon Donovan scored his first goal for Everton in a 2-0 win over Sunderland Wednesday, and he may really want to extend his loan now. Especially with this being a much better experience compared to the last time he was in Europe.

Just two weeks into his loan from LA Galaxy to Everton, US National Team star Landon Donovan is feeling very much at home and would consider extending his stay:

That isn’t exactly the same as saying he definitely wants to stay. There is a lot of time left in his loan and a lot can happen, but positive loan experiences for other LA Galaxy stars (okay, just one other star), led to some contention and left Galaxy without a big piece of their team for the early part of the season last year. This is something to keep an eye on if Donovan continues his success with Everton.

Landon Donovan will suit up for the L.A. Galaxy in 2010, but not before a three-month stint with EPL’s Everton. From the New York Times:

Donovan’s stint with Everton will end two weeks before the Galaxy’s season opener.