Sunderland, Toronto FC make Defoe-Altidore swap official

The deal between Toronto FC and Sunderland is complete.

Jermain Defoe returns to England to lead the Sunderland attack after signing a three-and-a-half-year deal with the Black Cats, while Jozy Altidore heads the other way, and will attempt to revive his career in Canada.

"It is a great club and I’ve always enjoyed coming up here and playing against Sunderland because of the stadium and the supporters," Defoe said, courtesy of the Sunderland website. "It is a great place to play and I’m really looking forward to it."

Defoe is expected to be involved in Sunderland's weekend clash with Tottenham, a team the striker spent the majority of his career with and recently trained with ahead of his move to north England.

"It's how it happens, its crazy," Defoe revealed. "It's going to be tough, obviously being at Tottenham for ten years, a good club."

Defoe returns to the Premier League after a year in Major League Soccer, where he netted 11 goals in 16 games for Toronto FC.

Meanwhile, U.S. international Altidore makes a return to the league he left in 2008 when he was a member of the New York Red Bulls, joining Toronto as a Designated Player. The deal with Toronto was made possible under the league's Allocation Rankings.

The terms of his deal with TFC were not disclosed.

"Our top priority is building a winning club with players that are committed to the TFC vision," Toronto FC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said. "Jozy is a special player, and checks off all of the boxes that we look for in a player. We are excited to finalize this deal and bring him to Toronto FC."

Altidore appeared in 52 matches, but saw his goal total drop off dramatically after finding the back of the net just three times in all competitions.

His most productive stint came before his return to England, when he was a member of Dutch side AZ Alkmaar. There, he scored 39 goals in 67 matches following three poor seasons with Villareal, where he spent the majority of his time out on loan.