18 May 2017 14:12:53
With risk of getting murdered for this.
people say a top team competing on all fronts needs 4 strikers. we have rashford and martial playing there occasionally. we are in the market for a much needed top striker this summer, but i feel that may still leave us short if one gets injured and we need extra fire power during a game. So what do you guys feel about making a move for Defoe. he's scored 15 this season in an abject sunderland team. at 34 he is unlikely to ask for a starting berth, knows where the back of the net is and as a striker who has been decent for 10 years now, he may add some experience to the attack. Thoughts?
18 May 2017 14:32:30
Aslong we buy one striker of the calibre of a griesman/ lukaku/ belotti etc i think its a shrewd move. He can educate the likes of rashford and martial in the art of poaching. If as i hope we play 2 uptop next season all 4 would get plenty of game time, defoe mainly but not exclusively as a sub.
18 May 2017 14:41:39
Interesting, but I think Defoe's game time would be limited, somebody coming to the end of their career need more games to keep sharp. I also don't think he does enough (aside from score), unfortunately the way we play we need more of an all rounder and I don't think he could maintain his sharpness from the bench.
18 May 2017 14:52:27
I wanted him at the club 10 years ago, he's deadly from the edge of the area and 1 on 1 with the keeper. Doubt he'd want to sit on the bench for the last 2 years of his career when he could be startng every game for a West Ham or Bournemouth.
18 May 2017 15:09:14
Agree about the sharpness Beast. if we end up playing 60 odd games next season he should be able to get on the pitch at least 15-20 times including sub appearances. That should be enough to keep him sharp-ish. Plus from what i have heard he is a decent pro who takes care of himself well.
He may well be inclined to work with a top manager with a chance of winning things at the end of his career - plus we will probably pay him more.
If we could make an injury prone Owen work for a bit, i think defoe could well work.
We were linked with Fonte when the season started - all ifs and buts, though the season may have been different had we had signed him.
18 May 2017 17:15:31
Seeing as we like re-signing players why not get back Hernandez.
18 May 2017 18:14:21
I've always liked defoe he's been a very consistent performer over the years. I can see the merit in having an experienced snr pro on the books that can also make a positive contribution. But I'm not sure a bit part is what he is looking for.
I don't think it would be a bad thing just highly unlikely.
19 May 2017 08:58:11
No and no, and it's a no again. Never good enough in his prime, and certainly not good enough now. Do you not think we've bought enough average over the last 3-4 years? Not sure why he'd spend his last season as a pro sat on the bench either?