on july 5, 2013, az agreed to sell altidore's contract to english premier league club sunderland, with whom he signed a four-year contract. it was eventually reported that sunderland paid az a $13 million transfer fee. altidore's first goal for sunderland came on august 27, 2013, spurring a dramatic late comeback in the league cup, defeating mk dons 4–2. in altidore's first tyne-wear derby, he put in a man of the match performance in a 2–1 win. on december 4, 2013, altidore scored his first league goal for sunderland to give them a 1–0 lead against chelsea, a game which eventually finished 3–4. after failing to find the net again for sunderland, altidore was dropped to the sunderland under 21s instead of playing against tottenham hotspur on april 7, 2014.