Jermain Defoe has claimed it would ‘make sense’ for Sunderland to appoint him as their next head coach.
Sunderland are three months into their search for their new permanent manager, with Mike Dodds taking interim charge since February.
The 37-year-old’s third spell at the helm has been extremely underwhelming, winning two of his 13 games in the hot-seat.
Sunderland are now desperate to get a new era underway, with reports claiming they would look to appoint a successor in the ‘immediate aftermath’ or their defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.
While Will Still and Rene Maric are currently the two names on everyone’s lips, Jermain Defoe remains insistent on keeping his name in the conversation.
The former striker netted 37 goals for Sunderland, before enduring a very brief stint with them again in 2022 which ended with his early retirement.
Despite frustrating fans with his exit, Defoe is now eager to return as a coach after spending the last two years as a coach with Tottenham Hotspur.
The 41-year-old recently revealed he has had ‘discussions’ about the Sunderland job, while he also made the bizarre claim that Jack Clarke would stay at the club if he was appointed.
What Jermain Defoe has been told about Sunderland pursuit
He hasn’t finished there though, and has now explained what people have told him about his chances of rejoining the Black Cats.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Defoe said: “”No, I’ve not had an interview. I don’t think there’s much to say on it, really. I think when people look at the affiliation with the club, an amazing relationship with the fans and obviously the Bradley Lowery story… I think a lot of people have said to me that it makes sense coming back as manager and you understand that you’re coaching at Tottenham and you’ve spoken about this, you know, you’ve got your team ready. So I think that’s sort of been like the conversation I’ve had with people.
“But in terms of like an interview, I’ve not had an interview. Of course, if you said to me now, would you want to be the Sunderland manager in the future… like, why not?
“I suppose if you ask John O’Shea or someone that played for Sunderland that’s gone into coaching, of course. Eventually, you would love to manage a football club of that size because I think if you say no, then you’re probably in the wrong game.”
Would the former striker be the wrong appointment?
Defoe earned his coaching badges at Tottenham and has since been named their U18s coach, with the team currently sat fifth in the U18 Premier League South.
The former Sunderland hero is eager to kickstart his career in management, but Sunderland should not be the club to take a risk on him.
While the club have identified Rene Maric as a potential target, the Austrian actually has nine years of coaching under his belt, despite only being 31 years old.
Sunderland clearly have certain criteria they wish to meet in their search for a new coach this summer, and to steer away from that simply because of Defoe’s history with the club wouldn’t be met with much satisfaction from the supporters.