Have Hull City Exercised Their Option on Jozy Altidore?

The talk of world football this week was all about which players were named, or omitted, from the preliminary World Cup rosters that were due on Tuesday. Bob Bradley’s decision to leave Charlie Davies off of the United States’ 30-man list (rendering him virtually ineligible for the competition this summer) dominated headlines for fans of the Red, White, and Blue.

But did this hoopla overshadow what might have been a vital clue regarding the uncertain future of another young American named Jozy Altidore?

Although some coaches publicly announced their selections earlier this week, FIFA officially published them on their website today . If you scroll down to the bottom of the page you will see a downloadable PDF. Open the document and you can view the preliminary rosters for all 32 countries participating in the World Cup this summer in South Africa.

Here’s where it gets interesting.

Listed next to Jozy Altidore’s name in the club column is “Hull City (ENG),” but his parent club is actually Villarreal in Spain’s La Liga. Yes, Altidore played for Hull City this past EPL season, but he was on loan and his spell with the club essentially ended when he was sent off for a head butt to Sunderland's Alan Hutton on April 24th (a straight red card for violent conduct typically entails a three game suspension and there were only two matches left in the season).

The media reported that Adam Pearson, Hull’s chairman, was furious and reacted to Altidore’s antics by fining him $61,000 (two week’s wages) then promptly sent him packing for Spain. That dismissal occurred on April 24th; Bradley submitted his roster on May 11th, two and a half weeks later.

So why doesn’t the roster read "Villareal (ESP)" under club?

Part of Altidore’s loan deal included an $11 million dollar option for Hull City to purchase the American striker at the end of season. This past February he even hinted at his desire to remain at the English club beyond the expiration of his loan, and who could blame him? He made 28 league appearances for the Tigers this season compared with the 6 he made in 2008 for Villareal, who then loaned him to Spanish second division club Xerez in January of 2009, where he never even stepped onto the pitch.

However, with the club said to be over $35 million in debt and having since been relegated to the Football League Championship (i.e. no more profit sharing in the Premier League’s lucrative TV deals), it seems to be an expense they can ill afford. Moreover, former Hull manager Phil Brown---who was sacked in March--and interim manager Iain Dowie have both blasted Altidore for his poor training habits.

But the question still remains. Was listing Hull City merely a clerical error or is there more to it?