Jermain Defoe Transfer From Tottenham To Toronto Confirmed

Jermain Defoe sets record in Europe [Photo: Jav The_DoC_66PJermain Defoe’s transfer from Tottenham to FC Toronto in the MLS has been confirmed by the club. The news of a possible move first broke in late November as reported on HotspurHQ. Defoe will remain with Spurs until the end of February before moving to Canada for the start of the new MLS season.

Jermain Defoe leaves Tottenham as their 5th highest scorer with 142 goals to his name in two spells with the club. He first joined Spurs in February 2004 from West Ham United and scored 64 goals in 117 appearances. He left in January 2008 and spent a year with Portsmouth. In his second period at White Hart Lane he played in 185 games and scored  78 goals. Defoe is Tottenham’s leading scorer in European competitions having overtaken Martin Chivers this season to set a new record of 23 goals. His last game for Tottenham could be the Europa League 2nd leg game against Dnipro at White Hart Lane so it would give him an ideal opportunity to add to his record in a grand farewell.

The highlights of Defoe’s time with Spurs include his 5 goals against Wigan Athletic, hat-tricks against Southamptonand at Hull City in the League, at Leeds United in the FA Cup, against Maribor in the Europa League and individual goals against Arsenal and West Ham last season. A firm favourite with many fans Defoe had the ability to score after coming off the substitutes bench. He holds the record of scoring the most goals as a substitute in the Premier League.

Tough Year – 2013

The past year has been a difficult time for Defoe. After a good start to the 2012-13 season under Andre Villas-Boas, he only scored one League goal in the remainder of the season. The signing of Roberto Soldado restricted his opportunity in the Premier League and even though he scored regularly in the midweek Cup and European games , he couldn’t break into AVB’s team for league games. The appointment of Tim Sherwood has seen no change in that situation with the new coach preferring Soldado and Emmanual Adebayor as his strikers.

Commenting on Defoe’s transfer, Tim Sherwood said on the club web-site,

"This is a great opportunity for Jermain and he feels it is one that he wishes to pursue. He has played a big part in the Club for many years and we all know he will give his best until his last minute in a Spurs shirt"

Jermain Defoe said,

"Everybody knows how much this Club means to me and I will play my heart out for the team and the fans until my last kick for the club.  I have had a fantastic time here and the fans have always been amazing to me."

Meeting Old Friends

Defoe is the fourth Tottenham player to move directly to a team in the MLS. Robbie Keane joined LA Galaxy in the summer of 2011 and has continued to score regularly for Ireland. Last January goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini made the move to link up with Keane at Galaxy and in the summer Clint Dempsey moved to Seattle Sounders in a surprise transfer as he again looked for regular football as captain of the US team in a World Cup year. The former Tottenham youngster, John Bostock, had a trial with Toronto last spring before joining Standard Liege on his release by Spurs in the summer. Toronto are managed by Ryan Nelsen who was at Tottenham for 6 months from January, 2012 and the two clubs have agreed to play a pre-season friendly as part of Tottenham’s to North America next July.

Thanks and Best Wishes

Jermain Defoe has been a loyal player for Tottenham and we thank him for his efforts for Spurs and wish him well in his new career in Canada with FC Toronto. He hopes to be included in the England squad for the wold Cup in the summer and in the MLS he will have the opportunity of regular football to stake a claim for inclusion in Roy Hodgson’s party for Brazil.