Arena on Altidore: “Right now, he’s on our roster. When he shows up in preseason, it will be interesting to see where he’s at.”
Bruce Arena is expecting Jozy Altidore to report to preseason when camp opens on Jan. 9.
Altidore signed with the New England Revolution on Feb. 14. The striker scored one goal in 17 regular-season appearances (4 starts) before initiating a loan to Puebla FC. The loan will expire at the end of the year.
At his season-ending press conference on Oct. 13, Arena expressed uncertainty about Altidore’s future, saying, “I know he has an interest in perhaps going elsewhere and we’ll work with him to see if that’s possible.”
On Wednesday, Dec. 21, Arena stated that he expects to see Altidore in a few weeks.
“Right now, he’s on our roster,” Arena said. “When he shows up in preseason, it will be interesting to see where he’s at.”
The Revs have a host of attacking options up top with Giacomo Vrioni, Gustavo Bou, and Justin Rennicks returning. The team also added Bobby Wood.
Arena likes having a plethora of options because it creates competition.
“We have a very competitive attacking group of players now,” Arena said. “As a coach, I’m pleased by that. It’s going to put a lot of pressure on everybody, and Jozy included. So, we’ll see how that works out and we’ll make our decision accordingly.”