Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe has admitted that he regrets the way in which he left West Ham United.
Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe gestures
Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe has told this month’s edition of Four Four Two that he regrets the way in which he left West Ham United back in 2004.
Defoe joined the Hammers from Charlton Athletic as a teenager, and made his name at Upton Park with 41 goals in 105 games for the club.
However, just one day after West Ham were relegated to the Championship in 2003, Defoe submitted a transfer request as he attempted to force a move away from East London – and eventually, in January 2004, he joined London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Now 34, Defoe is still proving himself as a top Premier League striker, as he has hit 14 goals in 30 appearances for a struggling Sunderland side.
Many West Ham fans have yet to forgive Defoe for his actions 14 years ago, but as reported by BBC Sport, the Hammers had a £6million bid to re-sign the England striker rejected, with Sunderland desperate to keep him.
Unfortunately for the Black Cats, Defoe looks set to leave the club this summer, with the Daily Mail claiming that the veteran striker has a clause in his contract which allows him to leave for free if Sunderland – who sit bottom of the Premier League table – suffer relegation.
West Ham may still be keen to re-sign Defoe, and pundit Ian Wright recently told The Sun that Defoe wants to return to the club and ‘right the wrong’ of his controversial exit.
Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe
Now, speaking to Four Four Two, Defoe has admitted that he regrets how his departure played out, noting that both he and his agent were inexperienced and made a poor decision, advising young players to avoid doing something similar.
“Yes, absolutely,” said Defoe when asked if he regrets his exit. “I did something wrong, I hold my hands up about it and take responsibility. I was a young lad back then and didn’t really understand what was going on. When we got relegated, my agent, who was also in experienced at the time, said, “You need to hand in a transfer request as everybody is going to leave.” I was young and naïve, and all I was really thinking about was wanting to play football.”
“Would I do the same thing now? No way. I would never hand in a transfer request and I would never advise a young lad to do it either,” he added.
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