Sunderland forward Jermain Defoe might get another shot at the national team duty for England when former Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce is faced with selecting players to feature for the country soon.
Allardyce had the chance to lead the Three Lions years back but he lost the position to Steve Bruce. With his appointment this time, Defoe could get another chance to represent England.
The 33-year old player has been neglected despite his decent level of success over the years. Just last season he scored 15 goals, helping Sunderland survive relegation from top flight English football. There are speculations that the English player could get a call-up to join the team for World Cup qualifiers. “Big Sam” as Allardyce is fondly referred to was pictured when in the stadium when Defoe scored against Manchester City in the first game of the season for Sunderland.
Defoe featured for England three years ago and hasn’t got a shot since then. Roy Hodgson didn’t look his way at all despite being the third highest English goalscorer in the Premier League last season, ending up behind Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy. Defoe entered the top ten all time goal scorers in the Premier League, drawing level with former Arsenal striker Robin van Persie with 144 goals.
He downplayed the visit of the manager to his possible call-up saying: “I thought I had a chance with the previous manager but I don’t know! It is important for me to just get my head down, people will say what they like but it is down to me. I need to continue to work hard, keep sharp and forwards get judged on scoring goals.”
There is an abundance of options in forward positions in the English team, but Defoe could still get his feature due to his quality and with time not being on his side. His experience would be helpful to England as they prepare for more tournaments after a string of utter failures.