In an interview with SAFC.com, Jozy Altidore opened up about his excitement at returning to the English Premier League next season. The 23-year-old American transferred from AZAlkmaar in the Netherlands to the Wearside club on Tuesday for a reported fee of $13 million, making him the most expensive transfer in U.S. history.
“I’m excited. Anybody who knowsanything about football knows that the Premier League, when you look at everything as a full package, is the biggest league in the world,” Altidore told Sunderland’s official Web site. “I’mthrilled to be here and I’m looking forward to getting adjusted as quickly as possible. It’s a fantastic club, everyone here is so welcoming. I’m really excited about this season — it has everythinghere, all the combinations to be a big club, so I’m really excited to be a part of it.”
Altidore said the opportunity to play in front of 40,000 fans every week is “part of takingthat next step as a player.” He added: “To be able to play in front of a stadium like that is going to be really exciting — I hope they like what I do on the pitch. Everybody, I’m sure,is excited to get the season off to a good start and I’m no different. I can’t wait to meet the guys, meet the coaching staff and get acclimatised as soon as possible. I’m just going to giveeverything I can to the team, that’s the biggest thing, to get the respect of your team-mates and when you do that, I think everything will fall into place. I’ll just give my all for the club. Ireally appreciate the club making the investment in me as a player and I want to give that back.”