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Jozy Altidore reportedly in discussions for MLS return

ByPhil Naegely|

After playing across the pond, USMNT and Sunderland striker, Jozy Altidore is reportedly in discussions to return back to MLS.

USMNT striker Jozy Altidore could be headed back to Major League Soccer after being away from the league for five years. ESPN Analyst Taylor Twellman broke the news on Twitter indicating that three MLS teams are interested in the American striker.

Toronto FC, New York Red Bulls, and the Portland Timbers are the three MLS teams that appear to be working on acquiring Altidore’s services.

Before heading across the pond to Europe, Altidore played for the Red Bulls for a year and a half ending in 2009. Since then, he’s played for Villarreal, Hull City, Bursaspor, AZ Alkmaar and Sunderland.

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His best time overseas came with Dutch league side AZ Alkmarr where fellow USMNT striker Aron Jóhannsson currently plays. Since making a move to Sunderland, he’s struggled to find regular playing time and scoring consistently; he had no trouble finding the net with Alkmarr and many continue to wonder why he ever left the squad.

Altidore needs a change of scenery due to the lack of playing time and scoring goals. While he injured his hamstring during the 2014 World Cup and we weren’t able to see his full potential, regular playing time will help both him on a club and international level. While Klinsmann has indicated he prefers his national team players to play in Europe, he should be more concerned about them finding regular playing time.

Since the 2013 Gold Cup where he went on a tear, US soccer fans haven’t seen the confident Altidore. By playing regularly and finding the net often, he can regain that confidence and his 2013 Gold Cup form ahead of the 2015 Gold Cup and other international friendlies.

All three MLS teams reportedly interested in Altidore could all use a new striker.

Toronto FC’s Jermain Defoe is reportedly heading back to Europe after only one year in MLS that didn’t go as well as planned. NY Red Bulls could use someone to replace Thierry Henry and help supplement Bradley Wright-Phillips on the attack. Lastly, the Timbers could use Jozy to spark the offense in 2015 after a disappointing 2014 season. Interestingly enough, Timbers owner Merrit Paulson said in a Q&A this week that the Timbers are looking into signing a USMNT player.

Altidore could ending up being that player, and would be welcomed in the Rose City. If he ended up in Portland, he’d face-off against fellow USMNT teammate and Seattle Sounders attacker Clint Dempsey three times in 2015.

It appears to be a growing trend that USMNT players are deciding on coming back to MLS or remaining in MLS instead of heading over to a European league. Altidore needs to return to MLS in order to revitalize his career and it wouldn’t hurt the league one bit if another national team star played on one of their teams.

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