Mar 11

James Vaughan joins Leicester on one-month loan from Everton

• Reserve rejects Derby, where he spent time earlier this season
• Provides back-up for injured Matty Fryatt in one-month deal

Leicester City have completed the signing of the Everton reserve striker James Vaughan on an initial one-month loan deal.

The 21-year-old has made 11 appearances this season, scoring twice. Earlier, Vaughan had a loan spell at Derby cut short by injury after just two appearances. They were keen to have him back after he returned to full fitness but their east Midlands rivals have instead acquired the England Under-21 international.

Leicester are fifth in the Championship and chasing promotion back to the Premier League after a six-year absence. Vaughan is eligible for their game against Cardiff on Saturday, with the Welsh club just two points behind them in the table.

With their leading scorer Matty Fryatt recovering from surgery after breaking his jaw in two places against Doncaster a month ago, the Leicester chairman, Milan Mandaric, hopes Vaughan can help provide goals in Fryatt’s absence.

“It was unfortunate to lose Matty Fryatt but James is a proper player,” said Mandaric. “It wasn’t simple. The player was wanted by other teams. I have a good relationship with the Everton chairman and I said to him that my manager would like the player and your manager wants him to get additional experience, so let’s close the deal.”

ChampionshipLeicester CityEvertonguardian.co.uk

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Mar 11

Everton need a billionaire, says chairman Bill Kenwright

• Everton chairman hopeful of fresh investment in the club
• Merseyside club still considering stadium options

Everton’s chairman, Bill Kenwright, is still hopeful there is a billionaire somewhere who wants to invest in the club.

With the manager, David Moyes, working on a tight budget and the pressing need for a new stadium, Kenwright has long accepted the Goodison club require a huge injection of capital.

However, he pointed out that even if there were a wealthy benefactor out there – and several parties are currently interested – the club had to learn lessons from other takeovers which had not gone exactly to plan.

“The truth is Everton do need a billionaire. Of course that’s a stock phrase, but we do need major investment,” said Kenwright. “One of the difficulties of being a chairman who has had to use money as wisely as he possibly knows how, is that it’s hard when you get bombarded, as I have been in the last three AGMs, with questions like ‘Why can’t we have what Newcastle have? West Ham? Portsmouth?’

“I even got Notts County last year. A former Everton employee had gone there and evidently there was some rumour that I turned down Arab millions beforehand.

“Am I hopeful? I’ve been hopeful before, and nothing’s come of anything. But I will find that investment. Keith Harris from Seymour Pierce is probably the top football investment broker. He has been, alongside others, looking for us. Every name you see that has been out there looking for football clubs, we’ve spoken to them. We’ve had people in the Far East, America, Switzerland, Japan…”

Kenwright added that although it pained him to admit it, leaving Goodison Park still represented the best option in terms of boosting capacity and gate receipts. But after the failure of the £400million Tesco-backed Kirkby project the club are looking at all available alternatives.

“We continue to search for other sites, and we are looking at several Goodison redevelopment possibilities,” Kenwright told the Liverpool Echo. “But the problem, as always, is cost. It’s easier and cheaper to build a new stadium – but we continue seriously to consider the Goodison situation.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Goodison is the greatest ground in the world to me. But something has to happen.”

EvertonPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk

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Mar 08

USA captain Landon Donovan set to return to LA Galaxy from Everton

• Goodison officials accept MLS club’s wish for return
• Player hopeful game-by-game deal can be agreed

Landon Donovan’s loan spell at Goodison Park appears certain to end as scheduled this weekend, despite requests from Everton to LA Galaxy that he be allowed to stay on Merseyside for an extra month.

The USA captain, who has had an impressive 10-week spell at Goodison Park, had said that he might stay in the Premier League after this Saturday’s match at Birmingham City. Everton officials and the 28-year-old raised the subject with LA Galaxy prior to Sunday’s match at home to Hull City, a 5-1 win in which Donovan scored one goal and created another. But the Galaxy want to keep to the deal’s agreed 15 March deadline, even if the Major League Soccer season is delayed by a labour dispute.

There is a growing acceptance at Goodison that Donovan will return to the US after the Birmingham game. Everton are keen to retain a cordial relationship with LA Galaxy and while there may be an attempt to sign Donovan in the summer, another loan deal next season is more likely for a player who signed a four-year extension in December.

Donovan, however, hopes to prolong his Everton career, with a game-by-game option a possibility in the weeks before the Galaxy begin their MLS season against New England Revolution on 27 March.

Donovan, who has been named as the MLS’s Most Valuable Player in the past two seasons, said: “I have told the Galaxy what I want, they know what’s going on and I speak to my manager [Bruce Arena] there fairly often and at this point it is an Everton and LA Galaxy conversation.

“Both clubs know how I feel, which is that I would like to stay, though I can’t end the season here, I’d have to go back 15 April at the latest. If that can be worked

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