Jermain Defoe has only ever wanted to do one thing
And that is score goals. He is a classic number nine in the sense that he plays with just one thing in mind, but he excels at it and it’s served him well throughout his career.
His form last season at Sunderland earned him a recall to the England set-up despite Sunderland’s horrific season that ended in relegation. Defoe scored against Lithuania in a World Cup qualifier in March 2016, but since moving to Bournemouth, has struggled to nail down a place in their team, facing competition from Josh King and Callum Wilson.
“No-one wants to sit on the bench. If you get to the point where you accept sitting on the bench then you shouldn’t be playing. I know there are still a lot more goals in me”, Defoe said.
“I came here [to Bournemouth] as an England player. I worked so hard to get back in that squad.
“I have missed the last three squads because I am not playing. I spoke to the manager a few months ago and it’s as simple as that – you have got to be playing and scoring goals”, he added.
That has been one of the more notable policies under Southgate; if players are not picked for their clubs, they will not be picked for England.
While Southgate is certainly trying to build the foundations of a squad for the future, there is nothing wrong with picking players for the here and now. Defoe might be 35 but he still feels he has a lot to give.
Defoe will face even tougher competition to get in the England squad than he faces at Bournemouth, with Marcus Rashford, Jamie Vardy and of course Harry Kane all having nailed down a place in the squad, but you never know.
