Newcastle United caretaker head coach John Carver is shocked that now-Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe managed just one season at Toronto FC.
Newcastle United caretaker head coach John Carver has admitted his surprise to the Shields Gazette that Jermain Defoe’s Toronto FC spell turned so sour.
Defoe, 32, arrived in Toronto from Tottenham Hotspur in the winter of 2014 to much fanfare, before going on to score 11 goals in his first 13 MLS games.
A nagging groin problem saw him make just five further goalless appearances from July onwards, however, as the club missed out on a first-ever playoff spot after a disastrous meltdown over the final few months of the season.
Having also seen fans turn on him over the summer following reports that he was attempting to engineer a move back to the Premier League, Defoe’s TFC stint thus looked all but over well before sealing his move to Sunderland in a swap deal for Jozy Altidore on Friday.
Carver is well qualified to speak on the matter, having managed Toronto from 2008 until 2009, and, while the Toon coach believes their rivals have made a wise investment, he can’t understand how the England striker failed to settle at the Canadian club.
“I can’t believe he hasn’t settled in Toronto because, let me tell you, Toronto is a fantastic party city,” he said. “He could have been the big star of MLS.
“I know he did have a problem settling there as one or two people told me. If he had stayed fit, he may have got them into the play-offs. Their form fell away when he got injured.
“There are some good players going out there now, and it’s a tough league,” he continued. “But he wanted to come back to England and feels like he’s got something to offer and he’s gone to our rivals.”
Defoe was in fact linked to Newcastle at the summer deadline by the Daily Mail, and it remains to be seen whether the club will come to regret allowing him to head over to the Stadium of Light instead.
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