Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe has re-signed for former club Bournemouth on a free transfer. The England international, 34, who has signed a three-year deal, said: “It’s great to be back. The one thing I can guarantee is goals.”
“It was an easy decision, joining a top team with a top manager,” added Defoe who scored 15 league goals last season.
A teenage Defoe spent the 2000-01 season on loan at Bournemouth from West Ham, scoring in 10 successive matches.
The former Tottenham, Portsmouth, West Ham and Charlton player is seventh on the Premier League all-time goals list with 158 in 468 appearances.
Cherries manager Eddie Howe said Defoe’s signing is a “huge moment for the club”.
Defoe moved to Sunderland in January 2015 after a brief spell at MLS side Toronto and after saving the club from relegation in the 2015-16 season with 15 goals, he signed a contract extension until 2019.
There was a clause in his contract that allowed him to leave on a free transfer, if Sunderland were relegated to the Championship, which was he was able to trigger when the Black Cats finished bottom of the league last season.
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