Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane has hailed Jermain Defoe after the veteran forward announced his decision to retire from football. The ex-England man, who was most recently plying his trade with League One Sunderland, confirmed his intentions to step away from the game on Thursday morning.
Following the decision, a number of players sent their well-wishes to Defoe, one of those being Kane. During his progression through the Spurs’ academy, the forward saw the diminutive striker during his peak years and no doubt harnessed his own finishing ability alongside him.
Taking to social media following Defoe’s announcement, Kane wrote: “Top striker, top bloke and someone who gave me some great advice in my early career as well as his number 18 shirt! Happy retirement @IAmJermainDefoe”.
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Defoe had two spells with Spurs throughout his career, originally joining the club from West Ham United back in 2004. The now 39-year-old went on to make 362 appearances for the north London side across those two stints, scoring 143 goals. Defoe was also prolific on the international front too, netting on 20 occasions across 57 caps for England.
Besides Spurs and West Ham, the striker was also a huge success elsewhere in the Premier League with Portsmouth and Sunderland, whilst he also represented the likes of Toronto FC, Rangers and Bournemouth.
He was most recently contracted to Sunderland having joined the Black Cats on a short term deal in the January transfer window but called time on his career after just seven appearances having failed to find the back of the net. Kane has previously signalled his admiration of the former striker, having labelled him as one of his favourite forwards.
Speaking with BT Sport’s What I Wore, he said: “Defoe is one of my favourite strikers. I was fortunate enough to play with him as well.”
