The former Tottenham Hotspur striker looks set to leave Sunderland.
Stan Collymore has told Boyle Sport’s Twitter page that Jermain Defoe would have loved to have re-signed for Tottenham Hotspur this summer.
The 34-year-old is on the brink of joining Bournemouth (via BBC) after being relegated with Sunderland this past season.
Defoe netted a total of 139 goals across two different spells with Tottenham (via Transfermarkt), leaving White Hart Lane in 2014 to join MLS side Toronto FC.
Spurs could do with a back-up striker to Harry Kane after Vincent Janssen, a £17 million signing last summer, struggled to find his feet following a tough first season in the Premier League.
The 22-year-old only managed six goals in 38 appearances across all competitions – and four of those were from the penalty spot. Defoe, on the other hand, netted 15 Premier League goals for the Black Cats.
His contract on Wearside does not expire until next summer but a relegation clause written into his current deal will allow the English veteran to leave for free.
And Collymore claims that Defoe would’ve jumped at the chance to re-sign for the Lilywhites this summer.
He told Boyle Sport’s Twitter account: “It’s a pity. I mean, Jermain Defoe…people say, ‘Oh he’s getting a little bit old now’ and ‘Would it set the right tone at Spurs’.
“But he has bags of experience and I think as a back-up striker he would have loved to have gone back to Spurs. They wouldn’t have had to burst the bank to get him, but as it goes he’s gone to Bournemouth so that one is done and dusted.”
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