Busy January For American Internationals

The European January transfer window always seems to offer a mixed bag in terms of player movement. Usually you'll see the big clubs looking for a few spare parts to consolidate power and the strugglers seeking some warm bodies for relegation battles.

A quick scan of the horizon after the window closed shut on Monday left very few ripples across the landscape. Big clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal remained quiet, while the biggest move trumpeted in England on the window's final day was Manchester City signing Adam Johnson from Middlesbrough, at least until Robbie Keane pulled up his stakes yet again and was loaned to Celtic right before the clock struck midnight.

Oddly enough, while most of Europe was quiet in January it turned out to be a very busy month for American internationals with many potential key players at June's World Cup on the move.

The underlying theme for most of the moves by the Yanks is pretty simple -- playing time. Players seemed primarily motivated to find a better club situation to get more game action to better position themselves for U.S. National Team coach Bob Bradley's final 23-man roster headed to South Africa in June.

Well, with one major exception in the form of U.S. all-time leading goal scorer Landon Donovan.
Since Donovan is by far the most prominent American that made a move in January, let's start with him.

Landon Donovan; old club: Los Angles Galaxy; new club: Everton (loan) -- A starter from Day One since moving to Goodison Park, Donovan has been nothing short of a revelation for David Moyes squad, looking comfortable on either the left or right side of midfield. The all-time leading U.S. scorer quickly silenced the doubters with an assist in his first match on Jan. 9 against Arsenal in London. Donovan didn't waste time scoring his first English goal, getting on the scoresheet on Jan. 27 against Sunderland. Better yet, with Donovan in the lineup Everton has gone 3-1-1. At this point the only question lingering over Donovan is whether he or Everton will try to extend his stated 10-week loan agreed upon with MLS in December?

Stuart Holden; old club: Houston Dynamo; new club: Bolton Wanderers -- Of all the U.S. movement in January, the move by Holden to Bolton might have the most risk involved. The 24-year-old was long linked to new Bolton manager Owen Coyle, trialing first at Burnley and then at Bolton when Coyle switched clubs. The risk for Holden, who was out of contract with MLS, is that his Bolton contract only lasts until the end of the 2009-10 season. Holden, who was probably the biggest breakout American player in 2009, won't have long to make an impression in England. The biggest obstacle might be finding a place into the lineup, as Bolton hovers just above the Premier League relegation zone. Coyle is on record saying he wants to remake the playing style of Bolton in a more creative mold, and Holden certainly fits that bill. That said, he's been fighting a leg injury and also might have to fight with another Coyle loan signing -- 20-year-old Slovakian Vladmir Weiss -- for playing time. Holden's place in the USMNT looks safe, but his next move/contract might be the most important for his club career.

Ricardo Clark; old club: Houston Dynamo; new club: Eintracht Frankfurt -- Holden's former teammate in the Dynamo midfield move in January to the German Bundesliga came with little fanfare. Clark, who to this point is still probably best known for kicking Carlos Ruiz in the face, hold long been linked to moves in either France or Italy. In Germany he'll have to fight for playing time in a crowded Frankfurt midfield. Clark has yet to feature since signing his contract on Jan. 21. Unlike Holden, his deal with Frankfurt includes a club option to extend the deal beyond the end of this season. As it stands, Clark probably needs to get regular minutes because his position -- central/defensive midfielder -- is one position the USMNT actually has a couple options at. Clark has been a "good soldier" for Bradley, which should end up working in his favor even if takes him some time to settle in Germany.

Freddy Adu; old club: Belenenses (via Benfica); new club: Aris Thessaloniki (loan) -- Rather amazingly, the now 20-year-old Adu is playing for his sixth professional club as he's now been loaned out by Benfica for the third time. At this point with Adu it's hard to read very much into anything he does, especially with such small sample sizes to work with. On the plus side he made his debut this past weekend, playing about 30 minutes and providing a through ball to assist teammate Eddie Johnson's 90th minute goal. Still, Adu is likely going to have the set Greek league afire to work his way into Bradley's plans, though as long as he gets steady playing time the door remains every so slightly ajar.

Eddie Johnson; old club: Fulham; new club: Aris Thessaloniki (loan) -- Johnson, who himself hasn't settled in Europe since signing for Fulham from the Kansas City Wizards in 2008. He joins Adu in the Greek hinterlands looking to regain the scoring touch that made him a hot prospect way back in 2005, which at this point seems like it happened the same time the "Iliad" was written. In other words, ancient history. Since moving to Aris at the beginning of January, Johnson has gotten into three matches, which in his checked European career constitutes steady playing time. For whatever the reason, despite little recent evidence Bradley keeps giving the now 25-year-old Johnson lifelines with the USMNT, so his inclusion in South Africa regardless of what happens during his stay in Greece wouldn't be shocking.

Kenny Cooper; old club: Munich 1860; new club: Plymouth Argyle -- The one-time Manchester United reserve team player quietly moved to the Southwest England trying to increase his World Cup chances. The move could prove to be fruitful since the Pilgrims -- currently 23rd in the 24-team English League Championship -- are in desperate need of goals, tied for last place with only 23 in 26 matches. The main reason for optimism for Cooper is that Plymouth former England international Paul Mariner, who'd spent the last five seasons as Steve Niccol's deputy with the New England Revolution in MLS, so it's pretty clear he recognized the talents of Cooper. Of all the moves, Cooper's seems to have the most upside although the 6-foot-3 Baltimore native has never seemed to be one of Bradley's favorites.

Overall it's hard to say how all this will shake out between now and June since there isn't any scientifically proven fact that correlates club performance with international performance. This isn't a conundrum isolated to Bradley and the U.S.

Just look at the example of Lionel Messi -- the current world Player of the Year -- who's failed to make an impact with Argentina while starring at Barcelona. On the other hand, look at the recently concluded African Cup of Nations where Mohamed Gedo came literally out of nowhere to win the tournament's Golden Boot.