EAST HARTFORD, Connecticut – Come January, Jozy Altidore will take a hard look at his professional future. He’ll do so with Jurgen Klinsmann in mind.
Altidore admitted as much on Wednesday, surprising many with a candid evaluation of the situation that faces him at Sunderland, where playing time has been scarce this season. Without minutes, Altidore said, he’ll have to consider a move away from the club in order to keep his place in the US national team.
That, of course, comes as no surprise to Klinsmann, who said the two were on the same page when it came to Altidore’s club career during a press conference ahead of Friday’s friendly against Ecuador at Rentschler Field (7 pm ET; ESPN, UniMas).
“We discussed it already [at the USMNT's Sept. 3 friendly] in Prague already. It’s a tough period for him, a tough situation,” Klinsmann said. “You want to kind move step by step upwards. If you’re not getting playing time, then it’s really difficult to stay sharp, to stay confident, to keep a rhythm.
“All we can do from our end is to give him encouragement, to keep him as sharp as we can when he comes in here. We know what he can do. We know his potential. We know his qualities. Right now, it doesn’t seem that it fits so well there.”
Altidore captained the US to a 1-0 victory against the Czech Republic in that September game, a welcome respite from his current plight at Sunderland, where playing time has been increasingly hard to come by after logging 2,394 minutes in 37 appearances during his debut season with the Black Cats.
In fact, the 24-year-old hasn’t started for Gus Poyet in the Premier League this season, making four substitute appearances. He has two starts in the Capital One Cup, with one goal to his name in that competition. Altidore also had a goal in that competition last year, but only one more in league play.
MLSsoccer.com reported on Thursday that French side Lille were interested in Altidore during the summer and Eredivisie power PSV Eindhoven explored the possibility of a loan move. Sources also indicated MLS teams were interested, but Altidore is not yet ready to return to the United States.
“If he makes a move in January and it would work out that he plays and scores again, nothing better than that,” Klinsmann said. “If he continues to fight his way through at Sunderland, so be it. He gets the same support from us.”
