Toronto FC’s star striker, Jermain Defoe, finally spoke to media in Toronto on Wednesday, after what was a rather turbulent month. The Reds fired their head coach, Ryan Nelsen, and replaced him with Greg Vanney just a couple of weeks ago, which led to all kinds of speculation that Defoe would soon be gone as well. Nelsen was a big reason for Defoe making the jump to Major League Soccer, and with record setting offers arriving for the striker on transfer deadline day, Defoe’s future in Canada was very much up in the air. The six million dollar man attempted to provide some clarity on his situation Wednesday, but did not sound very convincing.
It was an unusually busy day at the Toronto FC training ground, with members of the press swarming the complex. Although, Michael Bradley also spoke to the media, it was Defoe that everyone was there for and he spoke to them for about fifteen minutes. He answered questions about the transfer rumours, his future, and his injury, but besides the latter, nothing was necessarily revealed.
“For me it was normal. Especially when the transfer window opens, it doesn’t matter what club I’m at, there’s always been speculation about my future—‘is he going to stay or is he going to go?’ For me this was ‘here we go again.’ I didn’t pay too much attention to it because my main focus was trying to get fit,”
MLSMultiplex asked Defoe specifically about what Harry Redknapp had told the BBC when he said “Defoe wanted to come,” and again, Defoe ensured to do as much damage control as possible. “Harry always says that,” was his the first thing to come out of his mouth, before describing a very close relationship with the QPR manager. Defoe told the press that he spoke to Redknapp four months ago, and that he was told “You could come here on loan in the offseason, and keep yourself fit and sharp, to help us push up in the table”. Defoe professed his innocence by adding “Harry saying that is beyond my control,”
While Defoe ensured and promised the media that he was fully committed to Toronto FC and their fight for a playoff spot, he also refused to take responsibility for where he will be playing next season. Much like his answer about the transfer rumours, he again suggested that it was beyond his control.
“That’s out of my control. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. All I can say to the fans is that I’m fully committed, and looking forward to getting back and looking forward to this playoff push,”
Whether Toronto FC fans fully believe Defoe is yet to be seen, but the good news in the meantime is that the striker did say he was feeling better and was planning to get back to full training on Monday. Vanney said it was “very, very, unlikely” that Defoe will be available this weekend against Portland, but by the looks of it, we could see him return against the Galaxy in Los Angeles. It will be interesting to see how the whole Defoe transfer saga plays out, but based on Wednesday’s press conference, it is unlikely that rumours of Defoe’s departure are going to go away anytime soon.