QPR Confident of Signing Jermain Defoe On 3-Year Deal

According to the London Evening Standard, former Tottenham Hotspur star Jermain Defoe could very well be heading back to England to ply his trade in the Premier League come January. The current Toronto FC player, who moved to the MLS team earlier in the year, is reportedly wanted by another London-based club, Queens Park Rangers.

The report suggests that current QPR boss Harry Redknapp is hopeful over a three-year deal worth about £90,000 a week for Defoe. The English striker is no stranger to Redknapp, as the manager has previously signed Defoe to contracts at both Portsmouth and Tottenham during his 15-year career.

Defoe endured a fairly solid freshman season with Toronto FC, scoring 11 total goals in 18 matches with the MLS club, however, the Canadian team missed out on the playoffs despite entering the season with high hopes.

Following the firing of Toronto’s head coach in late August, the team’s general manager appeared to leave the door open for Defoe’s exit as well. Speaking on the subject of the striker leaving before the summer transfer period ended, GM Tim Bezbatchenko stated, “We’re speaking with (Defoe) and then we’ll make a decision. No decision has been made. We’ll discuss it over the next 24 hours.”

While Defoe obviously remained a Toronto player for the remainder of the 2014 season, the QPR boss admitted that he tried luring the former Spurs player back to the Premier League in August, saying, “We (QPR) made a big effort to get Jermain Defoe back but couldn’t quite manage to get a deal to bring him back from Toronto. He wanted to come home but there was no way that they would release him before the playoffs.”

With Redknapp clearly interested in bringing Defoe to London, a January move for the player appears to be very possible. QPR currently sits in the relegation zone in the Premier League standings, and a boost during the upcoming transfer window should be on the cards.

No one would claim that Defoe is in his prime, however, the 32-year-old would certainly help a QPR offense that has scored the third-fewest goals in league play (just nine in 10 matches). Charlie Austin has played well for the Hoops up front, scoring five goals in nine matches, but veteran Bobby Zamora has yet to hit the back of the net this season.

Although QPR’s problems go much deeper than just the offensive side of the pitch, as their defense has allowed a league-worst 20 goals, a proven Premier League scorer like Defoe could certainly be a step in the right direction in keeping the club in the league next season.