By: Elliott Spruell
In the most recent news regarding Landon Donovan’s stay in the EPL, Everton skipper David Moyes has revealed that he still hopeful that Donovan’s loan from Major League Soccer’s, Los Angeles Galaxy, will be able to be extended beyond the originally established ten weeks.
I’ve not got that confirmed yet and I can’t say exactly if that’s going to happen,” Moyes told Sky TV. “If we can make it happen we would, and if Landon wants to stay, which I think he does, we’d be really keen to keep him.
“There’s no guarantee yet, and I won’t know that for a little while longer, but there is a chance.”
If no agreement is worked out in the coming days, Donovan’s last home match for the Toffees will be against Jozy Altidore and Hull City this weekend.
As an avid MLS and Landon Donovan fan, I’ve had the extended loan discussion many times over the past ten weeks and this is what I have come up with:
From an MLS point of view, if Landon’s loan is extended through the remainder of the EPL season, the League and the Galaxy will miss out on a few months of the Landon draw, but in the end, it might not be the worst thing in the world.
If Landon puts the ink to paper and signs on at Everton for the rest of the EPL season, there will be a pretty penny involved for both the MLS and the Galaxy, and nobody minds having a little extra cash lying around. In addition, while Landon won’t be available for stateside marketing and promotions until after the World Cup, being able to point out that the best player in the MLS is playing, scoring goals, and making a difference in the best league in the world, isn’t too shabby. I can see the Lando countdown clock on the MLS website already.
Also, in a league like MLS, where there is so much parity and so many playoff spots available, MLS and the Galaxy don’t have to worry about missing out on a playoff spot, especially if LD and Becks both return in July, which would be another huge selling point for the extended loan. The golden boys and heroes of MLS returning in July after successful European seasons, and hopefully successful World Cups. MLS could definitely count on a few sellouts from July through November when the Galaxy come to town.
The downside would be that LD would be unavailable for three months worth of games and marketing appearances for Major League Soccer, but in all honesty, how many people show up to Galaxy games just to see Landon play? Not too many! And while Landon is the poster boy for Major League Soccer, he is strictly that, a poster boy. He does a few commercials here, and a few photoshoots there, but he is not a Peyton Manning or a LeBron James just yet.
All in all, I think it would be better for Landon and Major League Soccer if LD’s address remains in Liverpool, England until June!
