Jermain Defoe is set to join Bournemouth from Sunderland as a free agent on a three-year deal that will pay him £20m – including the signing-on fee. The 34-year-old striker, capped 56 times by England, has exercised a relegation-release clause in his Sunderland contract and he will return to the club for whom he played at the beginning of his career.
Defoe was an 18-year-old when he turned out for Bournemouth in 2000-01, on loan from West Ham United, and he scored 19 goals in 31 appearances for them. He played alongside Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall, who are now the Bournemouth manager and assistant manager respectively, and he has always spoken fondly of his time at the south coast club.
Defoe joined Sunderland in January 2015 after a spell at Toronto FC and he was persuaded in the summer of last year by Sam Allardyce, the club’s manager at the time, to extend his contract. He agreed to do so on the condition that he would be allowed to leave for free in the event of relegation.
Allardyce was promptly tempted away by the England job and he was replaced by David Moyes, under whom Defoe became increasingly frustrated. Defoe scored 15 times in the Premier League last season but it was not enough to save Sunderland from relegation. Moyes resigned on Monday.
Defoe’s form saw him win an England recall in March and he scored in the World Cup qualifying win over Lithuania – his 20th goal for his country.
Defoe has been teetotal throughout his career and with the massive contract on offer at Bournemouth, he might reflect on the benefits of having kept himself in peak condition. Watford and Crystal Palace had been among the clubs to show an interest in Defoe but Bournemouth have jumped to the front of the queue.