Can Newcastle Do The Unthinkable And Poach This Sunderland Ace In The Summer?

Newcastle United Must Sign This Goal Poacher From Sunderland

Having lost heavily at home to Manchester United last time out, Sunderland’s descent into the Championship has moved yet another step closer.

A clause in Jermain Defoe’s contract makes provision for him to leave the club on a free transfer should Sunderland go down, as the player would feel the need to make things as easy as possible to find a new club.

It’d be disappointing, even for a player of Defoe’s quality, should they look to leave their club straight after going down. However, at 34, having just been recalled to the England squad, Defoe will believe he has one last shot at a major international tournament. There is no doubt he will need Premier League football to keep that dream alive.

His quality has not waned at all. Defoe is easily Sunderland’s best player, playing in arguably the league’s worst team and even with a limited supply line, the English goal poacher has managed 14 goals in 31 Premier League games this season which is absolutely terrific.

Where do Newcastle fit in?

Unusually for this bitter rivalry, Newcastle fans seem to be awfully fond of the former Tottenham striker. His affinity with young cancer sufferer and Sunderland super fan Bradley Lowery is looked upon with fondness by those reading the local press every day. Defoe, in fact, credits the young man of changing his lifestyle for the better.

With this in mind, should Defoe feel the need to leave Sunderland AFC upon relegation, but stay in the area in order to visit the young Bradley, then Newcastle is the obvious choice for him. The question then would be if Newcastle would actually need him.

With Daryl Murphy most likely to not be utilised in the Premier League and Aleksandar Mitrovic likely to be sold too, it remains to be seen whether Rafa Benitez would replace them with another ‘big man’. The likes of Andy Carroll will once again be linked with the club in the summer, especially as players of that type seem to be back en vogue right now.

However, regardless of the size, a player can score goals. Barcelona seem not to care whether a player is as big as Ibrahimovic or as small as Suarez, as long as they can score. A club starting the season with Dwight Gayle and Jermain Defoe ready to fight it out for the no.9 spot would be quite something to see for a promoted club.

So the ultimate answer to the question posed – should Newcastle try to lure Jermain Defoe from Sunderland – is that if they feel the need to have a big man as an option up front then definitely, yes!