EVERTON may be returning to a tried and tested formula by playing two pre-season friendlies in the USA but for goalkeeper Tim Howard, next week’s tour is almost like coming home.

The games against Philadelphia Union on July 20 and DC United of Washington on July 23Šwill take Howard close to his birthplace in North Brunswick, New Jersey.

The encounter with Philadelphia Union should be particularly poignant for the 32-year-old USA international keeper, because the club’s chief executive officer, Nick Sakiewics, coached Howard during the early part of his career in the US.

Howard said: “Nick brought me through the ranks while I was a youngster. I’m friends with many of the coaching staff at Philadelphia Union and one of my best friends, Danny Califf, plays for them.”

Howard, who boasts 58 international caps and helped the USA reach the last 16 of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, is no stranger to Stateside tours with Everton since he joined the club on a permanent basis from Manchester United in 2007.

This summer’s opponentsŠare new,Šhowever, and take Everton to one of the heartlands of support for Major League Soccer (MLS), in a country where baseball and American football remain the most popular spectator sports.

Philadelphia Union were the 16th team to join the MLS in 2007. Everton can look forward to playing in an 18,500 capacity purpose-built stadium on the banks of the Delaware River known as PPL Park.