Jermain Defoe will only leave Sunderland for offer club cannot refuse

Striker Jermain Defoe will only leave Sunderland in this transfer window if Sunderland receive an offer they simply cannot refuse, according to manager Sam Allardyce.

The former England striker has been with the club for almost a year and continues to be a threat in front of goal, showing off his clinical streak with two goals in the precious 3-1 win over Aston Villa last Saturday.

Bournemouth were reported to have an interest in the 33-year-old, who scored 19 goals for the club in a loan spell 15 years ago, but Allardyce said he had not been informed of any offers.

Allardyce said: "We haven't had a bid for him, for one, and I suppose if I had had a bid for him, I'd have probably turned it down - unless it was that big a bid that the owner had told me, 'This bid is so big, Sam, that we can't afford to turn it down', and every club has that scenario.

"But no, we haven't had a bid for Jermain and no, we don't want to sell him."

Defoe's goals against Villa came with him playing as a lone striker, and Allardyce does not agree with those who suggest he is better partnered with another forward.

"There's always been a belief that maybe he can't play up there on his own," he added. "He's played up there a couple of times on his own now and I am more than willing to continue down that line.

"Hopefully it would be Jermain who came to me and said, 'Look, it's really not working for me, Gaffer, on my own up there. You have got to stick somebody with me'.

"That would be the only time, I think, that I would consider not doing it. If he can carry on and be as good as he was last week and certainly be as clinical as he was last week, then long may it last."