Jermain Defoe set to move to MLS with Toronto FC

Spurs striker Jermain Defoe is set to move to MLS with Toronto FC

According to Sky Sports, Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe is set to seal a £6million to MLS club Toronto FC.

The 31-year-old is expected to fly to Canada over the weekend and complete the deal on Monday. The striker will join up with former-Spurs teammate Ryan Nelsen, who is the head coach at Toronto.

The England international has spent much of this season on the substitute’s bench, making 10 of his 21 appearances this season from the bench.

His goal scoring record of nine goals is pretty impressive considering his limited game time.

However, the striker has failed to find the net in the Premier League this season in 12 appearances and now looks set to move on.

Goalscorer

Jermain Defoe is one of the most natural goalscorers in the Premier League. The diminutive striker has scored goals at every club he has been at and has found the net 141 times for Spurs in two spells, which makes him the fifth highest ever goalscorer in the history of the club.

Defoe is also the clubs highest ever European scorer, with 23 goals in European competition. The striker broke Martin Chivers record earlier this season in Spurs Europa League victory over FC Sheriff.

Unappreciated

Despite his goals and hardworking attitude Defoe has always been unappreciated by a high number of Tottenham fans and even management at times. For somebody with his finishing ability and work rate he has spent a lot of his career on the substitute’s bench.

International

Defoe has made 55 appearances for England, 32 coming from the bench and scored 19 goals. The Spurs striker made his international debut in 2004 and scored a goal at the last World Cup in South Africa, which turned out to be his only tournament goal.

A move to MLS is likely to hamper his slim chances of making the Three Lions squad for the World Cup in June. The MLS is not most viewed league in the world and he is unlikely to gain much attention from England boss Roy Hodgson in the MLS.

It seems by moving to the MLS Defoe is almost conceding that his international career is now finished. He will be playing regularly in the USA top-flight, but he will not join Toronto until March and will most likely spend the rest of his Spurs career on the bench.

Even with the current lack of available strikers to England boss Roy Hodgson, it seems that Defoe is unlikely to be included in the Three Lions squad for the World Cup in Brazil.

Premier League

I have to admit that I am surprised that Jermain Defoe is moving to the MLS at this stage of his career. He is a proven Premier League goalscorer and can still do a job in the English top-flight. I am also surprised that another top-flight club have not tried to sign him.

If he was played on a regular basis he would score goals for teams lower down in the Premier League table. Even old club West Ham are believed to be looking for a striker, so why not Defoe? I do not even think that the move to the MLS is motivated by money either, as he would probably earn the same amount at another Premier League club as he would in the US.

Defoe still has plenty to offer to the Premier League and it seems a shame that he has to move to MLS to get regular playing time.

Nearly

The striker will always be remembered as a nearly man. He is not quite world-class, but he is a very good goalscorer. He has been very unlucky in the fact he has always been considered dispensable to both club and country.

Useful

Tottenham are challenging for the Champions League places this season and are odds of 3/1 to finish in the top four. Despite having not scored for Spurs this season in the league, Defoe could have been a useful squad player to Spurs.

Instead it looks like he will bid farewell to British shores and start a new chapter of his career in MLS. I am sure he will head to the USA regretting the fact that he has at times been underused by Spurs though and be left wondering what might have been if he had played more games.

Is Jermain Defoe making the right move by going to the MLS?