Will Altidore Make The Most Of His Second Chance In The Premier League?

Jozy Altidore has played in the top flight of English football before, but it didn’t quite work out for him last time.

A variety of reasons could be given for his failings last time out with Hull City, with the most logical being a previous lack of playing time.  Before joining the Tigers on a season-long loan in 2009, the striker had missed a lot of football due to the long recovery time from surgery on an injured toenail.  This ultimately resulted in him never making an appearance for Xerez, who he had joined on loan in the January in an attempt to play more games.  However, the irony of the situation was no laughing matter for Altidore, who desperately needed to get his career back on track.

Given how much they paid to acquire his services from New York Red Bulls, Villarreal will probably not feel they got their money’s worth from the young forward.  Having burst onto the scene in the MLS at the age of 16, the Spanish side splashed out over £6 million to get Altidore, for whom he would make a total of 17 appearances for in all competitions, scoring just three goals.  A move to AZ Alkmaar in 2011 saw a revival in his form, with the striker spending two seasons at the Dutch club and finding the net 51 times in just 93 games.

Now an established member of the United States national team, at the time of writing Altidore has scored five goals for his country over the summer.  These form part of the 20 he has scored in his 61 matches representing the Stars and Stripes.  His new manager Paolo Di Canio will hope he can continue that form into the Premier League season as part of the Italian’s Sunderland revolution.

It is easy to forget, but Altidore is still only 23 years old.  Some players do not even get a look in at first team football until they reach a similar age, but the American has travelled around Europe to prove he has what it takes to succeed.

Despite not making much of an impact the last time he came to these shores, all the evidence suggests we should expect much more from the striker this time around.

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