Jozy Altidore plans to return to Sunderland

Jozy Altidore has no plans to leave Sunderland this summer and it looks like Sunderland have no plans to get rid of their American striker. Altidore spoke with Gus Poyet after the season and it apparently went very well.

"You are going to go through tough times and in a career in soccer, a lot of it is mental," Altidore told the Sunderland Echo.

"You have to stay strong at the tough moments because there are going to be a lot of them.

"Poyet said, ‘I know it didn't go well for you, but I believe in you and I want to see you back here.' So it was positive."

It was always likely that Altidore would return. Sunderland paid a fair bit of money for the striker and was never going to get that much if they sold him this summer so there wasn't much reason for them to deal him at a cut rate price. Poyet also showed more confidence in him than he probably deserved at times so if Altidore wasn't on the outs with the manager, why would he leave and try somewhere else?

Now Altidore is set for a Sunderland return. He's back on a team without great competition for playing time, with a manager who believes in him and with a clean slate. It's as good a situation as Altidore could have hoped for, now he just needs to have a good summer and head into next season with some confidence.