Veteran Defoe set for Bournemouth move

London (AFP) – Veteran England striker Jermain Defoe is set to join Premier League side Bournemouth after undergoing a medical, he told BBC Radio on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old — who scored 15 goals in the Premier League for Sunderland last season but is able to leave for free as he had an escape clause in his contract should they be relegated — said it would be announced officially in July.

“It’s out there, a lot of people obviously knew, I did a medical and said when this is finished and I’ve had a break, come July everyone will know anyway,” he said.

Defoe, who also numbers West Ham, Tottenham (twice) and Portsmouth among his other clubs, had been at Sunderland since 2015 after a spell in Major League Soccer with Toronto FC.

Defoe, who spent the 2000/01 season at Bournemouth on loan when they were in the third tier scoring 18 goals in 29 league appearances, said he didn’t want to announce the move officially out of respect for the Sunderland fans who were still depressed following relegation.

“Two and a bit years at Sunderland, I enjoyed my time there, it’s not nice when you get relegated, I don’t think it’s fair on the Sunderland fans to come out so soon after they’ve been relegated and say ‘yeah, I’m signing for someone else'” he said.

“It’s too soon to put it out there. At the right time, I would like to say ‘this is the club I’ll be playing for’.”