Speaking to BT Sport, former Tottenham Hotspur manager Glenn Hoddle has expressed his belief that Manchester United should have signed Jermain Defoe after the player was released by Sunderland at the end of last season.
Manchester United were in the market to sign a new striker during the summer and the Red Devils splashed big money to acquire the services of Romelu Lukaku from Everton.
While Lukaku has proven to be an exceptional signing for United so far, Hoddle believes that the Red Devils should also have looked at the possibility of acquiring Jermain Defoe on a free to ease the burden off the Belgian.
Speaking after Bournemouth’s recent 2-1 victory over Brighton, the former Spurs manager said, “You know if you give him one chance [he’s going to score]. I am so surprised one of the top six teams in this country haven’t taken him and got him back in.
“This fella keeps himself fit and he only needs one chance in a game. If he was at United or Arsenal or something and he’s coming on for a half hour every game, he would get four or five chances.”
Defoe has had an eventful career playing for the likes of Tottenham, Sunderland and Portsmouth among others over the years and in the process, he has featured in both elite European competitions as well as domestic relegation scraps.
Nevertheless, the Bournemouth forward has proven himself to be a master finisher at all of his former clubs, as evidenced by his 270 career league strikes and even at 35, Hoddle believes that some top teams could have benefited from the veteran forward as the ex-Sunderland player still seems to be capable of getting goals for his team.
However, United have already signed another goalscoring veteran in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the potential recruitment of Defoe would perhaps have not made sense, despite his undoubted abilities in front of goal.
It goes without saying that Defoe is arguably one of the finest finishers of his generation and his current club Bournemouth would surely have been very happy to have acquired the England international this summer.
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