by Richard Leigh

Created on: February 25, 2009

Jermain Defoe is an English football striker that currently plays for Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League. Having been with Tottenham now since January 2009; this is actually his second spell with the club, and he has previously played for West Ham United, Bournemouth (on loan), and Portsmouth also.

Beginning his career in the Charlton Athletic youth system; Jermain Defoe decided to sign for West ham United at the age of sixteen, and went on to spend four happy years with the club in which he made 93 league appearances and scored 29 goals. He had a successful loan spell at Bournemouth in the 2000/01 season, and it was after gaining this experience that Defoe was really able to establish himself in the West Ham first team and show himself to be an incredibly talented player well worthy of a place in the team.

At West Ham, Jermain Defoe joined the ranks of the England Under-21 team, but when he joined Tottenham in January 2004; it was then that he began to make headway at full international level for England. Defoe got his England debut in March 2004, and later scored his first goal for England in September 2004 in a World Cup qualifying game against Poland. Defoe has since gone on to make 32 appearances for England, and has so far scored 6 goals for his country (as of February 25th 2009).

With Tottenham Jermain Defoe continued to impress in his career, and although found his opportunities limited after Darren Bent signed for the club in summer 2007; up until this point he impressed for Tottenham, and scored plenty of goals for the first team. Jermain Defoe is a very impressive young English talent, and a player as strong as Jermain Defoe is always going to want first team action. In January 2008 he joined Portsmouth in order to achieve this, and under the careful management of Harry Redknapp saw his new team lift the FA Cup (although Jermain Defoe himself was unable to play for Portsmouth in the tournament as he was already cup tied with Tottenham).

Jermain Defoe spent just one year with Portsmouth, it was a very successful year that he spent with the club though, and in 30 Premier League appearances he contributed 14 goals for the club. Unfortunately for Defoe; Harry Redknapp left Portsmouth to manage Tottenham in October 2008, and it was he that Defoe had joined Portsmouth to work under. It was Harry Redknapp that brought the very best out of Jermain Defoe at West Ham, Harry Redknapp who Defoe wanted to work under when he left Tottenham, and ultimately Harry Redknapp that he returned to Tottenham to play for. Harry Redknapp has always been a big fan of Jermain Defoe, and seemingly Jermain Defoe is a huge admirer of Rednknapp's management skills also.

Having returned to White Hart Lane I'm sure Jermain Defoe will now see about re-establishing himself at the club, and show just why he never should have been let go in the first place. Jermain Defoe is a quality player with a point to prove, and there's no greater way for him to prove his point than to score lots of goals; something that I've no doubt he will do.

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