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Everton wants to keep Galaxy’s Landon Donovan a while longer

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Under the weather or under the gun?

The reason Galaxy and Major League Soccer standout Landon Donovan was below par in the United States’ 2-1 loss to the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Wednesday might be because he was suffering the aftereffects of influenza.

Or it might be that the strain of meeting expectations in the English Premier League is finally taking its toll.

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On the other hand, it just could be that Donovan, who turned 28 on Thursday, has something else on his mind. Something like figuring out how to stay with Everton and not return to the Galaxy this month as expected.

On Friday, David Moyes, Everton’s coach, revealed that the club has been in contact with MLS and with the Galaxy with an eye to extending Donovan’s 10-week loan spell, perhaps until the end of the English season in May or perhaps longer.

‘I am keen to keep Landon and it sounds initially in America that they might say yes,’ Moyes told the BBC. ‘I have not got that confirmed yet. I can’t say exactly if that’s going to happen. If we can make it happen, we will.’

Donovan is scheduled to play his final home game for Everton against Hull City on Sunday and the final game of his loan spell on March 13 on the road at Birmingham City. According to the Galaxy, he is expected back in Los Angeles on March 15.

But Donovan, who signed a new four-year contract with MLS in December, has played well during his time with Everton, having slotted easily into the team and contributed to its season. He has indicated that he is open to remaining in England.

‘If I look back after 10 weeks and say, ‘I really want to stay,’ then maybe I can make that happen,’ Donovan told the Liverpool Echo last month. ‘If I say, ‘OK, it was good but I’m ready to go,’ then I can go. But for now I’m taking it week by week.’

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Moyes knows what his preference would be.

‘In the main, he has done a really good job for us,’ he said. ‘It is very rare you can bring in someone in January on loan who can make a real difference to you, but Landon has. ... We cannot deny he has done well.’

If Donovan does remain with Everton, he probably would go straight from the Premier League season into camp with the U.S. national team ahead of its World Cup warm-up games against the Czech Republic on May 25 in Hartford, Conn., and against Turkey on May 29 in Philadelphia.

The U.S. team leaves for South Africa on May 30, which means that the very earliest Donovan could be back with the Galaxy would be June 25, assuming the U.S. fails to advance out of the first round of the World Cup. Chances are, it will be even later than that.

Having allowed David Beckham to stay on loan with AC Milan during the first half of consecutive MLS seasons rather than return to Los Angeles, the Galaxy can hardly deny Donovan the same opportunity with Everton.

Just how Galaxy fans would react to the absence of both players for half of the 2010 season is something Bruce Arena, the team’s coach and general manager, would have to take into consideration. The Galaxy had no comment Friday on Moyes’ remarks.

-- Grahame L. Jones

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