Donovan Training With Bayern Munich

Today at Bayern Munich's 3 PM practice, a new face showed up alongside coach Juergen Klinsmann, a face familiar to many American fans. Yep, that's right, the LA Galaxy's Landon Donovan is in Munich to train with Bayern for a weeek or two to "stay fit." Hmmm.

Could Donovan, who last left Bayer Leverkusen in 2005 after playing in seven league and two Champion's League matches, be looking for for a ticket back to European soccer? Donovan's own web site seems to indicate so when he says “I am pleased that Jürgen Klinsmann and Bayern are giving me this chance to get to know their new performance center and stay fit alongside their great international footballers.”

Kicker speculates that Donovan could fit well into the formation behind Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose, especially if Lukas Podolksi makes a possible mid-season move elsewhere. The question is not so much whether Klinsmann thinks Donovan is ready (by all accounts he does), but whether Donovan can prove his worth to club boss Uli Hoeness who must approve any deal (be it a loan or an outright purchase). My guess is that is exactly why Donovan is training in Munich this week.

Hoeness has made it clear that Podolski isn't going anywhere unless a suitable replacement is found. For many observers, that replacement appeared to be Zenith's Russian phenom Andrei Arshavin but if Donovan can prove he has the goods (and is available now), it may just be doable.

Stay tuned because if this is like any of Donovan's previous transfer sagas, it will get quite interesting.