Landon Donovan is a major target of english premier league club Aston Villa. They are believed to have offered a sum in the region of $3 million. Donovan has said he is very interested in joining them and would relish the chance of playing for one of the biggest clubs in england. you heard it here first!!
Re: donovan to england Until Aston Villa (or anyone else) adds about $5 million to that offer, forget it.
Re: donovan to england SAF has scouted Donovan like a hawk for the past year. I wonder who will win that bidding war?
Re: donovan to england I thought i read that Leverkusen was not interested in holding Donovan's rights any longer... if this is the case then $3 million will do it.
Re: donovan to england it's funny you say that because for the life of me, I can't understand why he would be sold for 3 million. he's young, very talented, a "star" national teamer for the squad he plays for. I guess being an American certainly does have its disadvantages.
Re: donovan to england it would be too big a risk to pay $8 million+ for a player who has'nt proved himself in any of the worlds top leagues. p.s. i've done my research on aston villa, they are a big club they've won the european cup once, the f.a. cup 7 times and the league cup 5 times.
Re: donovan to england They're also one of the most supported clubs in England...I think that's what he meant.
Re: donovan to england Where did you see/hear this info? ManUtd have been keeping tabs on him, as Nutmeg said. He may get more playing time at Villa.
Re: donovan to england I don't know the purpose of it, but EPL clubs always seem to broadcast rumours about the players they might be interested in, even if it's just a pipe dream, and even before there's any serious negotiations. If all this crap was true, then MLS would have to start a secret clone lab to fulfill all the requests for Donovan, Beasley, Convey, Adu, and Mia Hamm's future sons. BTW, is this the same Donovan who just bought a house and says he wants to stay in San Jose or is this a different Donovan? And for my money, Aston Villa is a mid-level EPL club, thoroughly average in every respect.
Re: donovan to england Villa finished sixth in the Premiership this year, just missing fifth place and a spot in Europe after losing to Man U on the last day of the season. Not too shabby, but not that impressive--especially considering that this was their best finish in quite a while. Their glory days are about 20 years in the past (European Champions 1982). As for LD, though, it wouldn't be a bad place for him to go abroad. He could probably break into that starting 11 (though I must admit I don't know much about Villa), and could use that as a place to showcase his skills and move up to one of the powerhouse teams. At the very least, this move is long overdue. LD has so much talent but he's plateaued in MLS and needs to play at a higher level to elevate his game.
Re: donovan to england It makes me laugh when I see these posts. Let me ask a question. Is the United States the ONLY country that does get to watch the WORLD CUP? Does the rest of the world not see that little event actaully go on? Did anyone else NOT SEE Donovan abuse people on the BIGGEST stage? Landon Donovan immediately becomes Aston Villa's most talented player (Juan Angel included!). Why is $8-10 million really a gamble for that?
Re: donovan to england the aston villa manager david o'leary said it on an english news program. england international darius vassell has'nt been producing the goods and he wants donovan to partner juan pablo angel
Re: donovan to england Well I know Nomar was quite the soccer player himself before he opted to concentrate exculsivly on baseball. I beleive Donovon is one of the 5 best players this side of the pond along with Delgado, Tevez, Robinho, and that guy from River I can't recal right now. But Donovon is IMO the most complete player of the group, not as good in some areas as the others but overall more complete of a player. To say he hasn't proven anything is ignorant, his international credentials speek for themselves. He does want to stay in San Jose I have heard, but ultimatly Bayer will have the final say in this story...so chalk up Villa as another club in the hunt, it won't be until at least January before he goes anywhere.
Re: donovan to england Landon Donovan seems to be a good player, he should play in a European championship to be able to progress.
Re: donovan to england My guess is - and it is a GUESS - is that he wants to stay in San Jose....until the best offer comes along, which I suppose would include the option of not going over to his new team until the end of the MLS season, because I believe he wants to win another championship REAL, REAL bad.
Re: donovan to england Aston Villa is a midtable team but their style does fit into LD's. Keep the ball on the ground, use effective crosses, take advantage of their possession of the ball. It's certainly ten times better than Spurs.
Re: donovan to england He could do worse than go to Villa, and he would be in good hands with O'Leary as his boss and I think he'd defo be a first 11 starter! However I think he should just stay put for now, pick up a third MLS Champions ring and then if he's going to go to England he could do it during the EPL's January transfer window. But things still have to be tied up with Bayer L, right?
Re: donovan to england Source, a-hole? Next Donovan-to-anywhere thread started without a linked source gets the shutdown (or moved).
Re: donovan to england i think this would be a very good move for him. i do think aston villa is an up and coming team, not to say they will consistently get better than 6th place, but they will continue to compete for 5-8 which is better than midtable. i dont think $8m would be over paying that much, but remember kaka only went for $7m. european clubs dont really like paying much for players from the americas who arent proven in a top league. $3m is definitely too little. $5 would be a good offer. hopefully bayer leverkusen would accept it.
Re: donovan to england I'd say 8-10 million is a gamble for any plyer who hasn't consistantly performed on a bigger stage than MLS and CONCACAF. The World Cup was great, but it was a short tournament. If the World Cup was enough to prove how valuably a player is as an investment than surely Hong Myung Bo is worth millions.
Re: donovan to england Kaka bitch, damn I'm too late just read the whole thread. Anyway how do Lando and Kaka stand up to one another in the tale of the tape. Golden Boy vs. Kaka Speed x Passing push Vision push Shot --------------x
Re: donovan to england Finally a voice of reason. 5-6 million would be a fair price for Donovan. Give him a year or two in the EPL to become the player we all know he can be and then Villa could sell him to a big club for 10 million.