Monday 9 May 2016 17:53, UK
Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce says Roy Hodgson should consider including Jermain Defoe in his England squad for Euro 2016.
Defoe's 15th Premier League goal of the season helped defeat Chelsea 3-2 on Saturday and victory over Everton - live on Sky Sports on Wednesday night - would secure the Black Cats' top-flight status.
The former West Ham and Tottenham striker has proved instrumental in guiding Sunderland towards safety and, with Danny Welbeck's place on the plane to France now in doubt, Allardyce believes 33-year-old Defoe deserves to be considered by Hodgson.
"I just think that, if Roy needed anybody to go along with the experience Jermain has when he needs a goal - maybe not from the start sometimes - Jermain would be your man if he felt he needed it, because he has proven that this year," said the Sunderland boss.
"He's had a big run of games that he has not had for a few years and he has been a consistent performer at the highest level again and scored 18 goals in all competitions.
"That leaves him around the third or the fourth highest scorer in the Premier League in all competitions this year, which is pretty miraculous in a team that's been sat in the bottom three or four all season."
Defoe has won 55 caps for England to date, scoring 19 goals. His last cap came as a substitute in the 2-0 friendly home defeat by Chile at Wembley in November 2013.
Allardyce added: "For the first time for a few years, he's consistently played week in and week out for us at Sunderland and delivered, and delivered in a position that people questioned that he could deliver in, which is as a central striker on his own.
"He's done all that in what's been a struggle for us for most of the year, so it's a great credit to him and his professionalism and dedication, and his ability in front of goal.
"We couldn't have asked for the ball to drop any better than it did for that third goal [against Chelsea] to Jermain. He'd be the one on the pitch we would have all wanted it to drop to, and he didn't disappoint us."
