When Toronto FC unveiled Jermain Defoe alongside Michael Bradley as part of their ‘bloody big deal’ campaign, the England international called his signing, “a dream come true” and added, “I’m delighted to be here and to go on this fantastic journey.”
However, with the MLS regular season now over, amidst continued rumours of a transfer to Queen’s Park Rangers and questionable dedication to his current club, TFC should allow Defoe to return to England. Defoe has said all the right things about his future in Toronto but all signs of late suggest he may not be all that committed.
The Canadian Press reported that the 31-year-old wasn't happy with the direction of the club and was not at all impressed with the firing of manager, Ryan Nelsen, who he had grown to respect.
When asked about his rumored transfer to Queens Park Rangers, Defoe said, “The QPR thing, that’s out of my control because if a club comes in about a player, you sit back and let the club deal with it.” Hardly convincing is it?
Through this ordeal, even TFC President Tim Leiweke doesn’t believe Defoe will return to the club at the end of the season.
“I personally don't think Defoe will come back,” he infamously said to a group of students at Ryerson University. “I think if he doesn't want to be here, you get rid of him. My attitude is if you want to be here and buy into what we've been doing, let's go roll up our sleeves and we'll fight together. And I will be with you every day.
"If you don't want to be here, get the hell out of our way."
And as recent as this week, Leiweke advised the Canadian Press "Jermain needs to decide if he wants to be here. If he does, then I think he's one of the great strikers in MLS. If he does not, then that situation is ours to ultimately decide, not his, because we own his contract. We're not going to give him away.
Defoe has reportedly struggled to adapt to the Canadian lifestyle despite TFC giving him two houses and unlimited flights back and forth between Canada and England as part of his deal. They’re also paying him $8.3 million a year after purchasing him for $6 million from Tottenham Hotspur.
Furthermore, when he was sidelined with a nagging groin injury, Defoe didn’t stay in Canada with his teammates. He returned to England. In fact, he hadn’t shown his face until he returned to training ahead the team’s game against Chicago.
Defoe is a good player, but is no longer great. There’s a reason he was overlooked for England’s World Cup squad earlier this year. Defoe is a very capable Premier League player but his role at Spurs had been decreasing as he spent more and more time on the bench. At TFC, he instantly became one of the best players in the MLS.
When he saw the wages TFC were throwing at him he made the decision to move across the Atlantic. Yet he still had to be persuaded by the rapper Drake to come to Toronto and the club went to great lengths to convince him and his family this was the place to be. The bottom line is that Defoe didn’t appear to be fully committed from the get go but took the money and is now looking for a way to get out of his deal. Other star European players have come to North America and haven’t asked for a way out.
Bradley, Thierry Henry, David Beckham, Tim Cahill, Marco Di Vaio and Robbie Keane are all examples of players who were happy in their situations.
Now, that’s not to say Defoe hadn’t done his part on the field. He has.
He scored 11 league goals in 18 games and despite playing just fours time since July 19, he still led the team in goals scored.
He also added a goal in the Amway Canadian Championship. With 12 career goals for TFC, Defoe is already seventh on the team’s all-time scoring list.
TFC management made the right decision in turning down QPR’s transfer deadline day offer at the end of August. When Defoe returned to the line up with four games left, it was still possible they could have made the playoffs down the stretch run if he found his form but his performance wasn’t up to scratch, highlighted by Defoe’s missed penalty against Houston in what would be his final home appearance in a Toronto jersey. He didn’t play in the final two games of the season.
However, the Reds were better when he played. With him in the line up, the Reds were 6-6-6. When he wasn’t, TFC were 5-8-2. Toronto collected 24 points with him in the line up, 17 when he wasn’t.
However, that’s part of the problem. Defoe hasn’t been on the field enough. He missed 15 (44 per cent) league games this season due to injury and suspension. Since July 19 Defoe has played just 330 minutes. Out of a possible 42 points, TFC collected just 14 in that span to miss the playoffs.
With TFC missing the playoffs for the eighth straight year, Defoe should be sold for the upcoming January transfer window. Half of the bloody big deal is over.
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