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American star Landon Donovan joined Everton on 2 January, 2010.

The Toffees announced the loan capture of the 27-year-old attacker in December after a deal was agreed with LA Galaxy and Major League Soccer.

He joined on a two-and-a-half month deal and brought a host of experience despite being only 27 years-old when he arrived.

Donovan is the USA's record international goalscorer with 46 goals. He has 138 caps to his name and has represented his country in three World Cups.

He began his career in a US Soccer academy but switched to Bayer Leverkusen in 1999 as a 17-year-old after impressing in the U17 World Championships that year.

But it was following an extended return to his homeland that his career began to flourish. Donovan joined the San Jose Earthquakes on loan in 2001 and by the time he returned to Germany in 2004 he had won the MLS Cup championship twice and become a national team regular.

He played just a handful of games at Leverkusen before heading back across the Atlantic to join the LA Galaxy, immediately winning another MLS Cup.

Then David Beckham joined the Los Angeles side and the team, amid a reported fallout between the pair, initially struggled in 2008 - before reaching the MLS Cup final again in 2009.

Donovan had a similar European loan spell with Bayern Munich at the start of 2009, playing six times.

With America, Donovan has won three Gold Cups (contested by nations in North and Central America and the Caribbean) and scored in the final of the 2009 Confederations Cup as the USA narrowly lost to Brazil.

Donovan's first spell at Goodison Park proved to be successeful. He started his career with an assist for Everton's first goal in a 2-2 draw at Arsenal and followed that up with another solid performance in the 2-0 home win over Man City.

He scored his first Blues goal in a win over Sunderland later in the month and quickly became a firm fans' favourite before contributing another goal against Hull in March.

Suggestions of a longer stay didn't come to fruition and Donovan returned to America after Everton's 2-2 draw with Birmingham in March.

In December 2011, a month after he scored the winning goal in the 2011 MLS Cup Final. it was confirmed that Donovan would be returning to Goodison Park on a two month loan deal. He made his second 'debut' in the 2-1 home defeat against Bolton.