It should come as no great surprise that new Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce has turned his attentions and former striker Jermain Defoe in a bid to try and help his side stay afloat in the Barclay’s Premier League this season. Allardyce is keen to bring Defoe in to help not only bolster the attack of Crystal Palace but to also undermine former club Sunderland. This would be a major ‘win’ in a sense for Palace, while it would be a huge blow to a Sunderland side who are starting to gain some confidence.
We’ve seen Allardyce talking about getting his defence right straightaway when he got this job, but now he’s turning his eyes toward the forward positions. One wonders what exactly Allardyce will choose to do should they somehow wrestle the veteran English striker away from David Moyes’ side. Would Defoe be a partner to summer signing Christian Benteke, who signed for a very large fee? Or would he be the one to demote Benteke. All of this also depends on the status of winger Wilfried Zaha, who quite frankly might determine the fate of the relegation battle. If he goes, Palace’s creativity goes along with it.
For Sunderland, this would be a disaster. It’d be tough to see them sell Defoe, especially this time of year unless the transfer fee was quite substantial. You’d really think that Moyes would have to have a lot of reasons to go after other players to sure up that team, as Defoe’s contract still has quite a lot of time remaining on it. This is the type of story that may well unsettle players at both clubs, and it could be a pivotal moment in the Premier League season for both sides.
(Via the Mirror)