IF Jozy Altidore fails to score in either of Sunderland’s next two matches, it will be a year since he scored his one and only Premier League goal in a red and white shirt.

Given that Steven Fletcher is fit, and Connor Wickham is an alternative option to lead the line, there is every chance the unwanted anniversary will arrive his way.

For some reason, Altidore and English football has not worked. He is prolific on the international stage under Jurgen Klinsmann for the United States and he could not stop scoring in Holland’s Eredivisie before his £6m switch from AZ Alkmaar. He does, therefore, know where the net is.

But it has just not happened for Altidore on Wearside. His agent this week claimed there has been significant interest in him from across Europe, with clubs in France and Germany known to be keeping tabs on him.

And it has got to the stage where you almost think a move away from the Stadium of Light is what he needs. Having just turned 25 earlier this month, he has years ahead of him in the game provided he can find some club form in front of goal.

He is well liked in America, where he could have the pick of his clubs if he wanted to go home, but you have to wonder why things have not worked out for him at Sunderland.

He is strong, has a good previous record of scoring goals, his team-mates like him and you even sense that his manager, Gus Poyet, would love him to shine in the North-East. Can it be purely the quality of the Premier League which prevents him from achieving his targets in England?

Anywhere in the box and Altidore appears to go to pieces in a Sunderland shirt, but he is not going to be the most confident striker in the world when he has not started a Premier League game all season. In fact, his last start was at Liverpool in March, a 2-1 defeat.

He has had 19 starts in the league for Sunderland and appeared 18 times as a substitute. His goal in a 4-3 defeat to Chelsea on December 4 last year remains his only goal.

With January fast approaching, and the transfer window set to open, Altidore’s time in the North-East could soon be at an end.

Even if he is handed some playing time in the new few weeks, the player will need to do something special if his Sunderland stay is to be extended beyond the New Year.