Having won promotion to the Premier League ahead of the 2007/08 season, Sunderland would go on to spend 10 consecutive seasons in the top-flight.
Naturally, during that time, the club spent plenty of cash in order to compete, with some signings proving more successful than others.
Sunderland sign Jozy Altidore
One such player signed during that era was American striker Jozy Altidore, and at the time, it looked as though it could be good business for the Black Cats.
Altidore’s career had began in the United States with NY Red Bulls, and having impressed, the forward soon made the move to Villareal in 2008.
It would take a few seasons for Altidore to find his feet in Europe, though, and it was at AZ Alkmaar, whom he joined in 2011, that the player had his first real successful seasons in terms of goalscoring.
In 2011/12, for example, Altidore made 52 appearances for the Dutch side, scoring 20 goals and registering four assists, with 16 of those goals coming in 34 Eredivisie matches.
Backing that up, the following season, 2012/13 actually proved to be a more fruitful season for Altidore, this time scoring 31 goals and registering seven assists in 41 matches.
These seasons convinced Sunderland that Altidore was worth signing, with the Black Cats wrapping up a deal in July 2013 for a reported £9 million.
Jozy Altidore reflects on Sunderland move
Unfortunately for Sunderland, Altidore would never repeat the goalscoring he showed in the Netherlands over in the Premier League, with his transfer going on to prove a real flop.
However, given comments made in an interview by the player regarding joining Sunderland, it is hardly a surprise that this was the case.
“It didn’t feel right. The timing was not right,” Altidore told VICE in 2020, reflecting on his move to the Stadium of Light.
“Sunderland was not the best club I had spoken to, I had also spoken to other major clubs. But Sunderland was concrete.
“I remember very well that Gertjan Verbeek and Earnest Stewart said that I had better wait for other offers, because Sunderland did not play my type of football. They were very honest about that, saying it would be a disaster if I went to Sunderland despite the transfer fee being so big.
“But my father really wanted me to go to England because the contract was good there. What if I suffered an injury at AZ? Then I might not have been able to get that contract anymore. So it was a difficult, emotional decision. I went to Sunderland.”
Altidore went further, revealing that his agent and father pushed the Sunderland deal due to the finances on offer in the Premier League.
“My agents and my father thought about finances,” the USMNT forward added.
“With the contract at Sunderland, I was able to secure my future, guaranteed.
“I was a young man. If I had had the knowledge that I have today, I would have made a different choice.”
Jozy Altidore deal was destined to fail
Now, whilst we would never cast judgement on Altidore’s decision, given that it appears to have been motivated by non-footballing reasons, it is perhaps no surprise that the player struggled on the pitch in England.
Altidore’s first season in England was a real flop, with the player making 39 appearances in all competitions for the club.
Unlike at AZ, however, Altidore was rarely finding the back of the net, scoring just one Premier League goal that season.
Things did not get any better from there, unfortunately, with the 2014/15 season proving even more of a disaster for the American.
Altidore, in and out of the side, would make just 11 Premier League appearances, scoring zero goals, before Sunderland decided that enough was enough.
