Jermain Defoe will apparently be staying with Toronto FC in MLS, despite several offers from Premier League teams coming in before the transfer deadline.
Jermain Defoe reportedly staying at Toronto FC
Several bids were reportedly submitted and rejected, with Queens Park Rangers, West Ham and Leicester City all seemingly showing the most keen interest.
Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
BREAKING: @TheTorontoSun can confirm that Jermain Defoe will remain at TFC after rejecting multiple bids.
— Kurtis Larson (@KurtLarSUN) September 1, 2014 Queens Park Rangers were the club most prominently linked to bringing the former Tottenham man back to England, where he would have been reunited with Harry Redknapp. But QPR were just one of numerous clubs to have been mentioned as suitors, with West Ham United and Leicester City both reportedly putting in bids and the likes of Newcastle, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Sunderland all apparently expressing interest at various points.
It’s not immediately clear if those bids were rejected by Toronto FC or Defoe. TFC were likely only interested in a sale if they could at least recoup the $10 million transfer fee they paid to Tottenham last winter and Defoe was surely unwilling to take much of a wage cut after making more than $6 million a year in MLS.
Likely contributing to Defoe's interest in exploring a move was the recent announcement that the men who recruited him to Toronto would no longer be around. Tim Leiweke has announced he'll be stepping down as the CEO of TFC's ownership group and TFC head coach Ryan Nelsen was fired over the weekend.
Despite any unhappiness, Defoe has played reasonably well, scoring 11 goals in 16 league appearances. But he’s also been dealing with a lingering injury and could be out several more weeks. Those health issues, as well as the economic costs may have scared off some suitors.
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