Following the dismissal of Andre Villas-Boas as Tottenham Hotspur manager, could Jermain Defoe still become a key man for England at next years World Cup finals in Brazil?
Jermain is an experienced striker who certainly knows where the goal is, having a goals to game ratio of better than 1 in 3 throughout the length of his career. This season however hasn’t been the greatest for him with Roberto Soldado being the preferred starter in AVB’s single striker formation in Premier League matches, with Jermain playing a full 90 minutes just 3 times to this point. Defoe has continued to register goals in the Europa League and Capital One Cup with 9 goals in his 8 appearances, but a lack of starts in the Premier League will give him and his agents food for thought as the January transfer window approaches, with him being strongly linked with a move to MLS side Toronto FC, managed by his former Spurs team-mate Ryan Nelson.
A natural penalty area poacher, Defoe was never overly-suited to the kind of formation that AVB preferred to employ and with £27 million having been spent during the summer on Soldado from Valencia, a long run in the first team was always going to be hard to come by this season. He did start last night’s Capital One Cup under the temporary charge of former Tottenham midfielder Tim Sherwood, but it will be up to Defoe to force his way into the plans of whoever Daniel Levy and the Spurs Board appoint next. Should he do that, the door to a place in England’s World Cup squad next summer might not be closed just yet.
I think Defoe could still be a useful weapon for England in Brazil as he offers something a little different to the other striking options available to Roy Hodgson. He would make an excellent impact sub and his pace and poaching ability could change games late on, especially with defenders wilting in the heat. During the last World Cup, he scored the winner against Slovenia in a 1-0 victory to put England through to the knock-out rounds.
He can score with either foot and is a real nuisance to defend against, which is always a useful trait to have on your bench and up your sleeve as a manager.
With there not exactly being a wealth of attacking options for Hodgson to select from, he may well feel that the experience of Defoe, allied to his poaching prowess might just trump a Jay Rodriguez for example. I understand that he perhaps may not be a starter for England at this stage of his career, as Rooney on his day is a sensational player and when fit, Daniel Sturridge has proven to be a handful for defenders too but beyond those two, plus the pace of Theo Walcott, the remaining attacking spaces are well and truly up for grabs.
Tired legs and lapses of concentration will definitely be there for teams to exploit late on in games played in energy-sapping conditions. The question is, who will Roy be turning to to take advantage of them?
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