Landon Donovan ends loan spell at Everton

[Zeppo]

Landon Donovan ends loan spell at Everton

Everton have confirmed Landon Donovan's loan spell has officially ended and he is returning to Los Angeles Galaxy.

The Toffees had a hope the prospect of a Major League Soccer players' strike could enable him to stay for longer.

But a statement on Everton's website on Sunday said: "Landon has returned to LA Galaxy following his 10-week loan,"

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[Zeppo]

English fans find an unlikely love for a Yank

Beside the gallant city park in perhaps the world’s most zealous sports neighborhood, an unanticipated love has sprouted this winter and ripened into wistfulness this weekend.

Sighs abound because the dreamboat tourist must go home to California by Monday. The air brims with remarks like “Don’t want him to go” and “If we could get him here permanently” and “I can’t picture him out of the team, to be honest.” Around a stadium tucked snugly into narrow roads of row houses and pubs and fish-and-chips stands, it is trendy to root openly for a distant workers’ strike on the faint hope that it could enable his return.

In the two details that make this curious, the lovelorn happen to be some of the most informed, exacting fans on Earth — those of the English Premier League — and the object happens to be an American soccer player who is not a goalkeeper.

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[Zeppo]

Donovan: In England, I would only want to play for Everton

Following a 10-week loan at Everton, Landon Donovan is back in southern California. But the 28-year-old won't be forgetting his stint in Liverpool any time soon.

"If I ever went back to England I would only want to play for Everton," Donovan asserted in a press conference today, seemingly squashing any rumors of Chelsea bidding for his services.

"Playing at Goodison Park is really special. As much talk there is about getting a new stadium, there's something about a historic place. People have gone there for years. I'm just a player there for 10 weeks; this is their life."

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[Zeppo]

Donovan may go back to Everton, if MLS strikes

Landon Donovan will attend the resumption of Major League Soccer bargaining and says he might return to Everton if players go on strike next week.

Donovan had two goals and three assists in 13 games during an impressive 10-week loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy to Everton that ended Saturday, helping the Toffees beat Manchester United and Chelsea, the top two teams in the Premier League. He rejoined the Galaxy on Tuesday ahead of their March 27 opener against New England.

"There's nothing concrete set up," Donovan said at a news conference Wednesday. "I think we've all been very clear about the possibility that I could go back if something happens. It's crossing that bridge when we get to it, right now."

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