FORMER England star Jermain Defoe has thrown his name into the hat of contenders to become Sunderland’s next manager.
The Black Cats sacked Tony Mowbray on Monday night following the team’s 1-1 draw to Millwall at the weekend.
Defore, 41, took to social media to tease a third spell at the Stadium of Light – having last played for Sunderland in March 2022.
The club are in desperate need of a new boss as the Black Cats currently sit ninth in the Championship with six defeats in their last 12 matches.
This means the team faces going into Saturday’s clash against promotion rivals West Brom without a manager.
Unless Sunderland’s board can make a quick turnaround and appoint Mowbray’s replacement.
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The list of contenders includes Paul Heckingbottom who was recently sacked by Sheffield United, Plynouth’s Steven Schumacher and John Eustace who remains out of work since his Birmingham sacking.
But fans would not have predicted for Defoe’s name to end up in the mix.
The ex-striker tweeted an amusing photo of him in a suit wearing a red and white tie captioned “Old pic, but ready for the job” and tagged Sunderland’s official X profile.
Sunderland are set to take on Newcastle in the third round FA Cup in what will be the first Tyne-Wear derby in nearly eight years.
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Defoe made 100 appearances across two spells for Sunderland in both the Premier League and League One.
And since his retirement in 2022, he has had limited senior managerial experience.
During his time at Rangers from 2020-22 following the departure of Steven Gerrard to Aston Villa, Defoe was named as part of a four-man caretaker team.
He has since returned to his old club Tottenham as a club ambassador and academy coach.
The East London-born star now aims to inspire more black coaches and managers in the game.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
