Major League Soccer (MLS) is on its winter-break, having just concluded a successful season that saw the introduction of the Seattle Sounders and the cup won by Real Salt Lake. With the MLS season over, American soccer fans turn their full attention to Europe. With less than two weeks until the European January transfer window, the rumor mill is strangely quiet – at least as it concerns Americans.
Landon Donovan signed a four-year contract extension with the Los Angeles Galaxy and promptly agreed to a short-term loan to Everton of the Barclay’s Premier League. The reigning MLS Most Valuable Player and U.S. Men’s National Team captain will join Tim Howard and the Toffees for a brief spell before returning for the start of the 2010 MLS season.
The Evening Times of Scotland reported this week that MLS Commissioner Don Garber held talks with Stuart Holden to convince the Houston Dynamo midfielder to stay in exchange for a major salary bump – ten times more than his 2009 paycheck. Holden is rumored to be a target of Rangers, a squad that includes Americans Maurice Edu and DaMarcus Beasley. New reports have linked Holden with Blackburn Rovers, though neither side has confirmed this speculation.
Real Salt Lake is arguably the most vulnerable MLS team in the January window, with Robbie Findley and Kyle Beckerman at the center of transfer speculation. In a recent interview with RSL General Manager Garth Lagerway, SoccerHype reported that retaining the services of Findley and Beckerman was a top priority in the off-season. Few suitors, if any, have been named, but it is no secret that both attracted interest from abroad with their playoff form. It is known that RSL will lose Yura Movsisyan, who will join Randers FC of the Danish first division. Randers has struggled this season and currently sits 14 points below the relegation line.
As some players move abroad, a few might return as well. Danny Califf has left Danish club FC Midtjylland to join the Philadelphia Union in its inaugural season in MLS. The twenty-nine year-old spent more than three years in the Danish first division. Califf, currently undergoing a buyout of his contract with Danish club FC Midtjylland, would become eligible during the next transfer window in January.
Finally, Eddie Johnson, the once promising striker who has failed to make an impression at Fulham and on loan to Cardiff City, might be coming home. Johnson’s limited play has been lackluster and sources indicate the twenty-five year-old is keen on returning to MLS where he might revive his career.
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