You guys want a HOT RUMOR??? Check this out:

Real Madrid set for New York Red Bull talks over Altidore
Real Madrid are eyeing New York Red Bulls striker Jozy Altidore.

Real sports chief Pedja Mijatovic has dispatched Carlos Griffon to New York this weekend to hold talks with the Red Bulls about Altidore's situation.

The 18 year-old centre-forward impressed Real scouts at last summer's U20 World Championships in Canada and could be brought to Spain in January. Real want Altidore to work closely with Ruud van Nistelrooy with the view to eventually succeeding the Dutchman as their prime centre-forward.

http://www.realmadrid.dk/news/article/?newsid=10547

If it is true, I see this more as a marketing move than a purely footballing move by Real. Jozy has a huge upside, but Madrid in Jan '08?? I'm not sure he's mentally ready for that kind of pressure yet, and his game has a ways to go as well.

I'm no scout, but I figured Jozy to go to a smaller club before making that kind of move.

That would be amazing for Jozy, but I just hope he gets to play. Like Madrist said, I would prefer a move to a smaller club where he is going to get solid minutes game in and game out.

Adu and Szetla (sorry about the spelling) have been improving loads in Portugal and Spain, but I can't think how much they would be improving if they were playing game in and game out.

theres an upside and a downside if he were to go RM, he would playing along side some of the best players in the world, and that could certainly improve his development, however as you guys have said, how much playing time would he recieve.

does anybody know what other teams have expressed interest in him?

Ideally you buy him and loan him out. I don't like the idea of Real buying him just for the fact he will be buried by their habits of buying big names. I do like their personnel moves, especially this season, but I would hate to see Jozy get lost in the shuffle of a big team like that.

On the other hand, that is pretty prestigious, and win, lose, or draw to have an American at one of the world's largest clubs would be something really special for him and all fans who support the game in the US.

Oh...and Angel got robbed. He had far less to work with and was on a team that really didn't produce aside from him, Mathis (on occasion) and Jozy. DC had a far better squad front to back.

oh from Setanta:
http://www.realmadrid.dk/news/article/?newsid=10547

"Real Madrid scout Carlos Bucero made the trip to watch the MLS Playoffs. The Spanish club seem to have changed their transfer policy and plan to sign young players and then develop them rather than continuing to add stars to their squad in expensive transfers."

Probably a good idea to mix young developing players with experienced veterans. We all saw what happened when Zidane, Figo, Beckham, Roberto Carlos, and others failed to produce consistently as they got older. As star studded as their teams were, you have to have a good mix of young and old for various reasons.

http://sports.setanta.com/en/Sport/News/Football/2007/11/16/Liga-Real-Madr id-keen-on-Altidore/?facets/sport-space/great-britain-locale/

I fail at cut and paste.

Wow, that's crazy Madridista. I could see how they see a lot of Horse face in Altidores game, and learning from him would be Huge for Jozy and the USMNT. We'll see though right? On Angel, he could have easily won the award, but I don't think Emilio wasn't deserving. Have there ever been Co-MVPs in any league?

+1, finally somebody who agrees with me about Angel getting robbed. If you just watch the two playing, you can see that Angel is the superior player and is more valuable to his team (and the league).

imagine altidore under the tutilage of RVN and Raul for 2 years.
he'll become a monster in the box and around the goal

complete striker at age 24

Just another over rated Freddy Adu. The reason Adu he is not starting is because he is dangerous in short spurts when you are behind but a liability at all the other times.

Wow I hope it happens, it'll be a great experience for Jozy

I think Jozy needs one more year for confidence, Freddy had five years in MLS and Danny had four years that's why they've been able to break through because they know their strengths. I think Jozy would do himself justice by staying one more year, the buzz will still be there and with added succes brings more dollars for himself and the league.

HAHAHA. I love Fan Nation. I come back 4 hours later and they changed the content to suit what everyone else is saying.

Could Jozy Altidore finally be the first world class American player???

Jozy is already one of the best players in the US system. I can't wait until the whole world knows his name. It's gonna be awesome come 2010.

Tons of Hype lets wait and see what he can do in Europe before we say hes the next great American. If he gos hopefully he works hard and doesn't get buried on the bench. Because hes certainly not going to get the benefit of the doubt being an American. In my opinion someone that is going to be a star in Europe is Michael Bradley. Hes attracting a lot of attention for what hes doing at Heerenveen and hes now a major part of that team. Hes making headlines for that team week in and week out. Only a matter of time till hes picked up by a big team.