Jermain Defoe, who is a free agent after leaving Rangers, also has coaching offers and has yet to decide if he will continue playing; he has previously said he wants to finish his career playing in front of fans
Wednesday 19 January 2022 18:16, UK
Sunderland, Ipswich Town, Charlton Athletic and Oxford United are all interested in signing striker Jermain Defoe until the end of the season.
Defoe, who is a free agent after leaving Rangers, also has coaching offers and has yet to decide if he will continue playing.
The 39-year-old has previously said he wants to finish his career playing in front of fans.
In his three years at Rangers, Defoe scored 32 goals in 74 appearances. He has 305 career club goals in 756 games.
Defoe had extended his stay at Ibrox in the summer and was added to the then Rangers manager Steven Gerrard's coaching set-up as a player coach.
However, following the arrival of Giovanni van Bronckhorst's backroom team, Defoe was backed to play a key role on the pitch with coaches Roy Makaay, former Ajax youth expert Dave Vos, Yori Bosschaart and Arno Phillps joining Rangers.
Sporting director Ross Wilson told the club's official website: "Jermain has made a significant contribution to Rangers over the last number of seasons.
"Even in the 'twilight years' of his career, he has shown the expert movement and finishing ability that took him to the very top in his career. His contribution within the training centre was excellent, as he became a role model for his peers, showing professionalism on a daily basis."
Sky Sports News' Dharmesh Sheth on The Transfer Show:
"There is a lot of interest. He said on The Transfer Show last Friday that the phone is red hot and I'm told today Sunderland, Ipswich, Charlton and Oxford are all interested in signing Deoe on a deal until the end of the season.
"He also has some tentative coaching offers as well, which is why it's not 100 per cent guaranteed that he will carry on playing.
"If a coaching offer was to come in that he couldn't refuse, he's going to have to think about.
"Something he did say on the show that he wanted to pursue was the mentoring of young players. If he was to go to a potential League One club, I think he would want to combine the playing and help the young players. So the clubs see a benefit from Defoe on the pitch as well as off it.
"He has previously said that he wants to finish his career playing in front of fans again, so I wonder if that will sway him for these last six months if they are to be the last ones of his playing career, he wants to do it in front of full houses.
"I'm sure if he was to turn out for these clubs, the fans would turn out to watch him."
Who will be on the move in January?
The January transfer window opens on Saturday January 1, 2022 and closes at 11pm on Monday January 31.
Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports' digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.
