Jermain Defoe is pretty much the only reason Sunderland did not go down earlier – so no wonder West Brom want to make him their first summer signing.
With West Brom forced to wait eight and a half hours for a Premier League goal before Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Burnley, it’s hardly surprising that Tony Pulis wants to add to his attacking options in the summer.
Therefore, news that Jermain Defoe will be available on a free this summer following Sunderland’s relegation has not gone unnoticed at The Hawthorns.
“We’ve got our fingers in the pie on quite a few players and we’ll see how we go on those players. If Jermain’s one of them, we’ll be pushing on that one if we can,” Pulis said in quotes reported by the Daily Mail.
While The Baggies’ top scorer, Salomon Rondon, finally ended his five month barren run against Burnley, the evergreen Defoe has struck 14 times for a Sunderland side spending almost the entire season welded to the bottom of the table.
New beginning?
However, while you’d expect that Defoe would want to remain in the Premier League having only recently earned his place back in the England squad, the prospect of trying something new at this late stage of his career could also appeal.
And Turkish publication Futbol Arena claim ambitious Super Lig side Antalyaspor are hoping to entice Defoe away from England. They add that the club are in talks with his agent and the 34-year-old is intrigued by the prospect of partnering former Barcelona and Inter Milan forward Samuel Eto’o in Turkey.
The two-time Champions League winner is certainly a more high-profile strike partner than Hal Robson-Kanu.
West Brom would surely have expected plenty of Premier League competition for Defoe’s signature but Antalyaspor’s interest throws a spanner into the works.
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