Landon Donovan started his Everton loan in great form by assisting on a goal and nearly providing his own. Donovan fed Leon Osman with an excellent corner kick in Everton’s recent match with Arsenal. He also nearly added his own goal, but missed the post by inches. He played well up until he was substituted in the second half. David Moyes the Everton coach was very impressed with Donovan at the right midfielder spot. He also noted that he was upset to have to take Donovan off in the 68^th minute due to cramping. He also stated that he may try Donovan as a forward and slotted in behind the forwards. This bodes well for Donovan, and I hope he continues to impress.

Eddie Johnson didn’t see any playing time at Aris FC this past Sunday, but at least he is officially listed  on their webpage roster. Freddy Adu also didn’t see any playing time, and unfortunately he still isn’t listed on the Aris FC website. Neither player has been at Aris for very long, and the team has had a few wins in a row. I am hoping that Johnson can come in off the bench in the next game, but we will see. When your team is winning usually the coach doesn’t start changing things around.

Does anyone remember Carlos Martinez? He was a standout for the US U-17 team, but due to disciplinary problems became a bit of an outsider. He didn’t get any starts, but played a few minutes during the recent U-17 World Cup. I had seen him play against the Brazilian U-17s, and I thought he was a real talent. In any case he is apparently going on trial with Tigres in Mexico and Boca Juniors in Argentina. I think both of those teams are pretty good, but a shot with Boca Juniors would be the best. Boca Juniors have an amazing history in Argentina. Let’s hope he gets a shot.

Another former youth standout, who hasn’t seen a lot of playing time recently is Bryan Arguez. He went from DC United to Hertha Berlin in the German Bundesliga. He fell out of favor fairly quickly and has seen a little playing time on their U-23 team. His contract is up at the end of this season and his recent performances in the U-20 World Cup might get him a decent contract in the near future. I would like to see him move to a smaller club and get some playing time. He is a player who seemed to have a strong future as a defensive midfielder.

A youth player, who is having some success in Europe, is Gabriel Agbossoumonde. He played very well at the recent U-20 World Cup. He is a defender and looks really big and really fast. He signed a recent loan deal with Sporting Braga in Portugal and apparently has performed well with their youth squad.

Finally, another player to watch is Alejandro Bedoya, who is 22 and currently playing in Sweden at Orebro SK (I haven’t figured out how to do the umlaut over the O, but there is one). He got called up to the Full US National Team Camp this January and is a natural left winger. This puts him in a small class along with I think only Robbie Rogers and DaMarcus Beasley. If he can shine at this current camp, then we might have a future left winger for the US National Team. I doubt he would make the World Cup squad.

Ok, well that’s all for now. Let me know what you think.