Landon Donovan has been sharing his thoughts on his former club Everton heading back to his native USA and the Blues' departure from Goodison Park
Everton fan favourite Landon Donovan has detailed his advice to his former Blues boss David Moyes about the club’s summer plans. Despite his time at Goodison Park being fleeting in the shape of two loan spells from Los Angeles Galaxy in 2010 and 2012, totalling 22 matches and two goals, Donovan proved a hugely popular figure with Evertonians and the 43-year-old reveals he’s delighted that his old side are heading to his homeland again next month.
Everton made half a dozen pre-season visits to the USA first time around under Moyes, with a seventh trip, under successor Roberto Martinez, organised before the Scot first departed the club in 2013. Since then, the Blues have taken part in the Florida Cup under Rafael Benitez in 2021 while the following year under Frank Lampard they faced Arsenal in Baltimore and Adrian Heath’s MLS side Minnesota United.
Ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, Moyes’ men will take part in the Premier League Summer Series against Bournemouth at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey on July 26; West Ham United at Soldier Field, Chicago on July 30; and Manchester United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, on August 3. Donovan, of whom the LA Times’ Kevin Baxter told the ECHO is “the best player in American history,” is looking forwards to Everton’s US return.
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He told the Everton website: “We spoke to Moyesy on our podcast about coming over in the summer and it’s important, I think, to keep showcasing the football club. I think the trajectory of the club now is back in a good way and it's going to be awesome to have Everton in America and watch them on our home soil.
“I think people in England don’t realise how popular football has become in America, and in particular the Premier League. Every Saturday and Sunday morning people are sitting at home with their kids watching football, and that being in the morning on the weekends has provided people an opportunity.
“Generally you’re out in the afternoons, or you’re at a baseball game or something, but in the mornings, you sit home and you watch football now. I have so many friends now who knew nothing about football five years ago and they’ll text me, ‘Did you see the game? Did you see the goal?’ It’s great to see fans growing.”
Meanwhile, Donovan who also met up with Moyes and his father when he made his final visit to Goodison Park on April 19 for Everton’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester City, reflected upon the Blues departing the first purpose-built football ground in England which has been their home for the last 133 years. The Ontario, California-born star said: “I miss this place.
“When I walked through here the first time, I remember I got off the plane, it was a cup game, I walked through the stadium to sit down and I got here at half-time.
“The ushers, the people in the car park and the fans, everybody walking through said, ‘Hi Landon, welcome, great to have you.’ I had never felt that before, I had never stepped a minute on the field so I could have been terrible, but they showed me that love and support from the beginning and I wanted to repay it. “I just have so many fond memories, particularly night matches here, with the crowd absolutely boiling over and us scoring and beating big teams, all the giants here on night games here at Goodison. It makes me pretty emotional being here.”