Landon Donovan is expected to return to MLS when his loan with Bayern Munich expires in mid-March.
Donovan trained with Bayern in December and then joined the German champions during the Bundesliga’s winter break in a loan deal similar to the one his Los Angeles Galaxy teammate David Beckham has with Milan. Donovan’s loan expires March 15.
“Donovan is an interesting player,” Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told the TZ. “But when you have Klose, Toni and Olic already under contract, we think the fourth player (striker) should really be a young player with perspective.”
Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni are Bayern’s starting strikers, while Hamburg’s Ivica Olic has been signed as a free agent for next season. Backup striker Lukas Podolski is returning to Cologne at the end of the season.
After arriving at Bayern, Donovan said he would be interested in a longer contract. He scored four goals in practice matches and has made four appearances, all as a substitute, in the Bundesliga and the German Cup, without scoring.