Gus Poyet has described him as Sunderland’s perfect signing, although Jermain Defoe’s fresh start will begin with a return to his past.
Sunderland have managed to register Defoe in time to make his debut on Saturday against Tottenham Hotspur, the club where he spent nine years as a player; where he felt so at home that he was allowed to train with them while he looked for a club to bring him back to the Premier League after one unsatisfying season at Toronto.
Defoe spent the best years of his career at White Hart Lane, there is a bond there that cannot be broken. Yet Spurs still let him go. They wanted someone younger and better.
No matter how fond they are of each other, Defoe is still the jilted ex. He will want Tottenham to wonder if they made a mistake, not just in letting him leave the club, but also in deciding not to take him back.
Sunderland could not have made him feel any more wanted. Even though Defoe is 32, Poyet is convinced he has found an elusive piece in a jigsaw on Wearside – the natural goalscorer who will not only ensure Sunderland stay up, but galvanise a club who have been trapped in a relegation maze for too long.
“There’s no doubt we all needed a lift, and the club is a different club today,” the Sunderland manager said. “I’ve got no doubts about that. It doesn’t happen that way very often, and it’s not very often we’re in a position where we can bring in a player of the quality of Jermain Defoe. But we’ve got him here, and we have to use him in the right way now. There are no excuses now. I am responsible; whatever happens from this point onwards, is down to me.
“I cannot say one thing one day and then change when it suits me. We were missing something in front of goal, but now we’ve got Jermain. Now I need to keep him fit and playing.”
Sunderland were in desperate need of someone to improve a depressing statistic of 18 goals in 21 league games, but the deal is even sweeter as they have somehow managed to swap Jozy Altidore, a striker who scored just one goal in 18 months, rather than pay a transfer fee.
Defoe’s wages are larger than Sunderland would normally be prepared to pay, but Poyet is certain he will be worth it, for all the 3½ years on his contract. His age raises doubts about fitness, but Poyet is adamant that the England striker’s hunger is still there.
“It is the perfect deal,” Poyet said, when asked about replacing Altidore with a player who is all but certain to score more goals than the American.
“He’s got things that come naturally. When I played with him, he is the type of player I always wanted on my team because winning is easier with him. The things he does on the pitch come naturally – the way he moves, the timing, the ability to find himself space and have a shot.
“I know him. We talk openly. He is desperate to play in the Premier League. It’s not like he’s saying, 'I’ll get back in there and that’s it’. He’s desperate to play and that’s why it’s difficult for me and him to decide what to do [at Spurs on Saturday].
“For me, if he could play 90 minutes, that’s what he would do. I think he wants to play 90 minutes, but we both know this is like the first pre-season game.”
Part of Sunderland’s problem this season has been Poyet’s persistence in playing with only one striker and five in midfield at home. He has hinted that will change with Defoe possibly an ideal partner for Steven Fletcher.
“There are plenty of things we can do differently,” Poyet added. “We are going to develop into something different. We will try to adapt. In the past, we found it easier to be organised with one striker up front and the other one working a bit harder out wide. Now, it’s a big possibility we will start playing with two up front.”
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