Altidore interested in Premier League return

Altidore: Looking to set right his Premier league record

AZ Alkmaar striker Jozy Altidore has expressed his desire to play in the premier league again. The 23-year old striker had a loan spell at Hull City, the last time they played in the Premier league, but was unable to save the club from relegation.

But the US international now believes that he is in a position to perform better at England’s top flight.

“It is a fantastic league, anyone will tell you that,” Altidore said.

“If you look at everything, the Premier League is probably the biggest league in the world. Everybody knows that and it would be a pleasure to play in a league like that again.”

Having started his career at New York Red Bulls, he made a €10m move to Villareal in 2008, breaking the record for largest transfer fee paid to an MLS club. During his spell at Villareal he was loaned out to 3 clubs including Hull City, as he was unable to cope with the demands of European football at such a tender age.

“I think I was 19 or just turned 20 and I had not played in Europe before that. It is a totally different style from the MLS.

He then moved to Dutch side AZ Alkmaar and he looks to have finally come to grips with European style of play, as he scored 31 goals in all competitions for the Eredivise outfit. Sunderland are rumoured to be interested in his services and Altidore insists he is a much better player now.

“I have come a long way since then. I am almost a different player and I have learned a lot. So I don’t think there is any resemblance to that time if I went back to the league any time soon.

“I have played 100-plus games (since leaving Hull). Playing there at that age and playing in the best league in the world, you can’t expect to hit the ground running.

“Some of my performances at Hull were not as bad as people think, some of them were actually pretty good.

“I don’t look back at it as a sad experience. It was a great experience because I got to see what the highest level was like.”

Source: SkySports