Jermain Defoe

Jermain Colin Defoe OBE is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Scottish Premiership club Rangers. Defoe began his career with Charlton Athletic, before moving to West Ham United aged 16 and rising through the ranks. He made his England debut in 2004 and has made 57 appearances, scoring 20 goals, including three appearances and a goal at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In April 2011, Defoe became the 20th player to score a century of Premier League goals, and is currently the eighth-highest goalscorer in Premier League history.

About Jermain Defoe in brief

Summary Jermain DefoeJermain Colin Defoe OBE is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Scottish Premiership club Rangers. Defoe began his career with Charlton Athletic, before moving to West Ham United aged 16 and rising through the ranks. He made his England debut in 2004 and has made 57 appearances, scoring 20 goals, including three appearances and a goal at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In April 2011, Defoe became the 20th player to score a century of Premier League goals, and is currently the eighth-highest goalscorer in Premier League history. He also holds the Premier League record for the most goals scored as a substitute, with 22, as of 11 January 2014. He left for Toronto FC of Major League Soccer in 2014, before returning to England in January 2015 to sign for Sunderland. In November 2016, he scored his 150th Premier League goal, making him the joint tenth-highest goal scorer in Premier league history. His mother is of Saint Lucian descent, while his father is of Dominican descent. He was born in Beckton, Greater London, and grew up in Canning Town. He joined the Sunday league team Senrab, well known in London for producing players such as Lee Bowyer, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Ledley King, and then joined the FA National School of Excellence at Lilleshall, Shropshire, as a 14-year-old in 1997. At West Ham, he was a member of the Under-19 team that won the Premier Academy League title in 1999–2000, scoring twice against Arsenal in the play-off final.

In September 2000, he joined Second Division club AFC Bournemouth on a near season-long loan, where he scored in ten consecutive matches, equalling John Aldridge’s and Clarrie Jordan’s post-war record. He finished as West Ham’s top scorer in the 2001–02 season despite being used primarily as a Substitute by manager Glenn Roeder, scoring 14 goals in 39 league and cup appearances, one of which was a 1-0 away win against Manchester United in December 2001. Less than 24 hours after the club had been relegated, he made a written request for a transfer, saying, ‘As much as I love West Ham I can only feel that now is the right time for me to move on in my career’ The timing of his request drew criticism from both fans and teammates and was turned down by the club. He later apologised to the supporters, saying: ‘I feel that I mishandled that move and I can Only feel that this is very much a career decision and I am very ambitious and hungry to achieve at the highest levels of the game’ In January 2008, he moved to Portsmouth in January 2008. He spent one season at Fratton Park before return to Tottenham in the January 2009 transfer window. In January 2009, he signed for Sunderland in January 2011. He has also played for the England national team, scoring three goals at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.