AMSTERDAM — Despite continued transfer interest for Villarreal strike prodigy Jozy Altidore, his agent has poured ice cold water on any thoughts of a winter move.
After a summer filled with suitors, the 21-year-old US international has recently received calls from the likes of promoted Serie A side Bari, Turkish power Galatasaray, fellow risers Kaiserslautern in the Bundesliga and as-yet unnamed Premier League clubs.
"There's loads of interest in Jozy, but he's happy at Villarreal and they're very happy with him," his agent, Lyle Yorks, told MLSsoccer.com.
The forward was also quite the hot commodity after appearing for the US national team at World Cup 2010 in South Africa, drawing varying degrees of interest from clubs such as Ajax, Besiktas, Bursaspor, Celtic, Napoli and Palermo.
With five starts spread between Copa del Rey and the Europa League but just one La Liga sub appearance this season, Altidore is most interested in increasing his pitch time with the Yellow Submarine, at least for now.
"The only thing is obviously to keep working hard to get more playing time, but other than that, right now it's a pretty good fit," Yorks said. "It's a situation we'll stay close to as we get toward January. But at this point, his focus is on Villarreal. They're having a great year."
Altidore has two goals in seven games across all competitions this term. After Thursday's Europa League visit from Group D leaders Dinamo Zagreb, he and Villarreal will remain home to tackle league foes Sevilla on Sunday.
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