An American international striker, Jozy Altidore is on loan from Spanish side Villarreal for the 2009/10 season and the Tigers have an option to make the deal permanent at the end of the campaign.

Born Josmer Volmy Altidore in New Jersey and raised in Florida, his football career began with the New York Red Bulls when he was signed during the 2006 Major League Soccer SuperDraft.

His professional debut came in August of the same year when he came on as a substitute in a 3-1 cup defeat against D.C United.

Less than a month after that debut, he scored his first goal in a 1-0 victory over Columbus Crew.

He soon became a fans' favourite and set two new records in his first couple of months as a pro.

He became the youngest player (16 years, 349 days) to start in a MLS play-off match and also the youngest player to score in the MLS play-offs (breaking the previous record by almost three years).

Another impressive season in the MLS, which also brought his senior international debut for the United States against South Africa, saw him become a target for some of Europe's top clubs.

It was Villarreal that eventually made the first move, signing Altidore for a fee in the region of $10million, the largest fee paid for an MLS player at that time.

He made his debut against Deportivo La Coruna and scored his first goal for his new club against Athletic Bilbao, the first American to net in La Liga.

However, Altidore struggled to adapt to life in Spain's top division and he was loaned out to second division side Xerez in January 2009 for the remainder of the season.

Injury brought his season to an end without making an appearance for Xerez.

JOZY ALTIDORE'S FULL INTERNATIONAL APPEARANCES WHILST WITH HULL CITY
Total up to 30 June 2010: 12 caps
05.09.2009 H v El Salvadore in Sandy (World Cup Qualifier) - Scored
09.09.2009 A v Trinidad & Tobago in Port of Spain (World Cup Qualifier)
10.10.2009 A v Honduras in San Pedro Sula (World Cup Qualifier) - Sub
14.10.2009 H v Costa Rica in Washington (World Cup Qualifier)
14.11.2009 A v Slovakia in Bratislava (Friendly)
18.11.2009 A v Denmark in Aarhus (Friendly)
03.03.2010 A v Holland in Amsterdam (Friendly)
29.05.2010 H v Turkey in Philadelphia (Friendly) - Scored
12.06.2010 N v England in Rustenburg (World Cup finals)
18.06.2010 N v Slovenia in Johannesburg (World Cup finals)
23.06.2010 N v Algeria in Pretoria (World Cup finals)
26.06.2010 N v Ghana in Bloemfontein (World Cup finals)

NB Jozy's loan deal with the Tigers expires on 30 June 2010. He was shown on the official FIFA squad lists for the 2010 World Cup finals as a Hull City player.