Just a week after being criticized for failing to test himself against the best, Landon Donovan agreed a loan deal to take him back to English Premier League club Everton on Friday.
Former United States international and current Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel hit out at Donovan recently, insisting the Los Angeles Galaxy star should have taken the plunge by moving to Europe instead of remaining in the comfort zone of Major League Soccer.
Now Donovan, 29, will suit up for the Toffees in up to nine games and will hope for a repeat of the successful loan stint he undertook in 2010.
But some, including Friedel, will have doubts that the MLS Cup champion can again make a significant impact in one of the world’s top leagues.
“You get a player like a Landon Donovan, who in my opinion chose to take the easy road and stay in the States,” Friedel told the BBC. “It’s much harder to ply your trade over here. The (EPL) is the best league in the world to play in, and this is where Clint Dempsey got better in my opinion. This is where he became one of the best the United States ever produced.
“The profiling in the States sometimes is a lot more to do with sponsorships than what you actually do on the field. And listen, I’m not trying to take anything away from Landon because Landon has been absolutely magnificent for the U.S. as well. I’m just saying he gets a lot more notoriety because it’s sponsorship-driven over there.”
Donovan will also find the squad he joins up with to be very different from its 2010 incarnation. Since the American international’s last spell at the club, the Toffees have lost midfield stalwart Mikel Arteta to Arsenal and playmaker Steven Pienaar to Tottenham, while manager David Moyes had been denied the funds needed to replenish the squad.
Everton lies in 12th place in the EPL table but is just four points clear of the relegation zone and will be determined to avoid a scrap for survival.
