Jermaine Defoe has been told he can leave Spurs and the word on the tabloid street is that O'Neill will make a bid.

He's not the cleverest of footballers but he's got bucket loads of talent and can score goals. He also likes to collect watches although that doesn't concern me too much.

I think a striker of his calibre would be welcome at Villa Park any day, but will he really want to leave the bright lights of London to come to Villa?

Chelsea are in the market for a striker and they may choose to make a bid for him if Bolton demand too much for Anelka. Defoe doesn't get moody when things don't go his way.

I'm not convinced he will come but I think we should make a move now he is available.

Having looked at other rumours today it's just yesterday and Sunday's stories regurgitated by different papers filling column inches so we'll just have to see what MON plans to do in the next 23 days.

Comments (42)

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Kaz said:

Would rather have Anelka than the staffordshire bull terrier that is Defoe. Anelka would be a much better buy in my opinion. He's taller for one, and a lot smarter. I also think he would work very well with our existing strike force. Would be good to be able to interchange between Carew and Anelka too, give them both games but also allow each other to have a rest now and then.

January 08, 2008

Stan said:

I'm a Spurs supporter, would be gutted if he left but we could use the money to shore up our defence..... He would be perfect for you guys though, as I think you're slightly lacking in this position and he could be what you need to push into that 4th place spot which is up for grabs this season

January 08, 2008

TONEBONE said:

Anelka is 100% not happening. As for Defoe, even if spurs let him go i dont see him coming to us. He loves the london life too much. MON would have to pull out all the stops to convince him to move up here. Hope he manages to tho.

January 08, 2008

Chrisodon said:

Defoe is a quality player he's a proven goal scorer and definitely a player we should go for but i've got a feeling he'll sod off to Man city or just stay at spurs.

January 08, 2008

taglor said:

Defoe is good but not world class and I think he is a very greedy player and we have a good team ethic at Villa we may be better suited with somebody else.

January 08, 2008

Chrisodon said:

I agree he can be greedy but he's always been trying to grasp on to a starting place or one on the bench by trying that extra bit and be greedy. Maybe at villa his ethic would chance and set up as well as score because he'd always be in and around the team.

January 08, 2008

Ipbop14 said:

DOYLE looks like a real possibility. I think he would be a good back up for JC and some. He's got the irish connection with MON and is a good young prospect for the messiah to weave his magic. Can't see DEFOOL wanting to come out of the big smoke although I believe coming to VP would enhance his England chances, even though their season's over as well!

January 08, 2008

Woodinho said:

Alright chaps, not been on here for a while, but regarding the Defoe story my initial though was "great, decent player, lets hope we get him" but now I've had time to think about it I dont actually think he is the answer to our problems... you see I still see our midfield as a major issue! It's hugely un-ballanced. We have NRC sitting in and mopping up - love that, nothing wrong with it at all, but then we have Barry, who does more or less the same thing but turns a few times and feeds Young - which really NRC should be doing once he wins the ball... then you have Petrov (who in my eyes has improved greatly - but still not proved himself yet) who I cant remember setting up a single goal apart from the ridgewell o.g. at the sty. Basically I think our issue is the supply from midfield to the strikers, you know someone with that spark of genious that can make a goal from nothing, a killer through ball or a neat flick. How many goals this season have not come from a corner or a Young cross - the answer: not many! We need a creative midfielder not three work horses like we have at present! Someone like a Merson, a young Patrick Berger, even a bloody Lee Hendrie will do! On the other hand I could be totally wrong and our stikers might not have the intelligence to make the correct runs for the midfield to supply!!! If that's the case, bring on Defoe!?!? Anyone agree or am I just talking s**te???

January 08, 2008

Beast said:

Found this on some other villa web sites: "There are two new signings to be announced at Villa Park by Wednesday 9th Jan. Aston Villa will confirm the signing of Kevin Doyle from Reading on a four & half year contract, It would have been completed last Thursday, however, Reading manager Steve Coppell is yet to decide whether he wants Villa's Luke Moore as part of the deal or straight cash (which is 6.5M) he won't play against his former team though as Aston Villa face Reading in their next fixture. Secondly Giles Barnes will sign (not too sure on length of Contract / or fee) but he will definitely be available to face Reading at Villa Park 12/01/08. Martin O'Neill is playing the waiting game with Porto over Jose Boswinga as Aston Villa were told in the last window to come back in Jan with a bid and although Porto are reluctant to sell they realise the player's contract is running down and theres little or no chance of him signing a new one, Villa will get there man however, this may have to wait until 30 / 31st of January at a cost of 8M. Villa also set to go for two more (as yet my informant at Villa Park is yet to furnish me with these details) but as soon as I receive them I will post on this message board." The Doyle part does look like it's true, he was spotted by a mate of mine who works at Villa Park last Friday.

January 08, 2008

Luke Marson said:

I saw that Beast. Good stuff. Woodinho - you're right and wrong in my opinion. Right about the midfield, wrong about Defoe :p. I think we need Defoe and another striker but your are 100% right about our midfield. It's not doing it's purpose properly. I think we need someone creative in there.

January 08, 2008 | url

ozavfc21 said:

I HOPE WE DON'T WASTE MONEY ON DEFOE! HE ISN'T THAT GOOD AND WOULD BE ANOTHER TEN GOAL A SEASON FOR US. I WOULD RATHER GO FOR SANTA CRUZ HE'S A MUCH BETTER PLAYER. I HOPE THE KEVIN DOYLE RUMOUR THAT I KEEP HEARING IS TRUE AS I WOULD SWAP HIM FOR MOORE ANY DAY AS MOORE IS A LAZY STRIKER WHO CAN'T SEEM TO BE BOTHERED ANYMORE.

January 08, 2008

andy5759 said:

Woodinho & Luke absolutely right! Our midfield need something. Defoe has an impressive scoring record, I read somewhere that it's 68 in 104 starts, plus making impact of bench. If he only gets 10 goals a season then it's probably down to lack of supply from mid.

January 08, 2008

505anthony said:

He's alright. But I'd rather have Gabby and Luke as our short, fast strikers than him. But from what I've been reading he wants to stay at Spuds, in which case he can p*** off and rot on the bench. I don;t think we should buy anyone who doesn't want to play for us.

January 08, 2008

PC said:

whatever happened to nicolae dica from steaua?

January 08, 2008

DSB1 said:

Can't believe people would not like Defoe at the Villa. He's got a very good goalscoring record for the games he plays and would be a great signing. I would also have Doyle as that would give us four quality strikers with Harewood and Moore offloaded. Next would be Hoyte at RB with a proven creative central midfielder to release Agbonlahor or Defoe. Finally good to see Davies getting a game, looks like him and Laursen could become a good partnership.

January 08, 2008

Damian said:

i'll put cat amongst the pigeons here and say i'd rather have defoe than gabby

January 08, 2008 | url

Paul181 said:

Someone on here said that defoe is greedy and that we have a good team ethic... that is all well and good, but every team needs someone to be greedy. We need a goalscorer, not another playmaker, and we seem to get the reputation of the nice guys with no cutting edge. I think defoe is exactly what we need.

January 08, 2008

avfc-anthony said:

are u against home grown talent damien fist barry now gabby

January 08, 2008

avfc-anthony said:

mind you we shouldnt rely on homewgrown talent and i see you casedefoe has bags more experince and gabby could learn off him

January 08, 2008

Lou said:

This is worrying...i've just read that laursen would consider moves to both spurs and newcastle - big clubs apparently! Can't MON just give him the terms he wants, our defence will melt without him!

January 08, 2008

taglor said:

@ Paul 181 I said that about Defoe and looking at it from your perdpective you could be right and maybe just for once I am wrong! People like Klinsmann, Lineker, Anelka, Owen take teams on on their own and that may be the cutting edge for us, just not Defoe, if he's just a sub for Spurs then I wouldn't want him as our 1st choice, they must have a good reason for not playing him much.

January 08, 2008

Damian said:

at avfc-anthony i'm not against gabby but if i had the option of which striker i'd like at villa for the next 2 seasons i'd pick defoe - that could trun around and bite me in teh butt almost instantly or next season or in 3 or 4 .. but we'll never know but barry - hardly home grown is he ..

January 08, 2008 | url

Eli said:

Damian, you've lost your mind son. Defoe over Gabby? It's just sad sir. Real, real, sad.

January 08, 2008

Damian said:

at Eli a few stats for you: defoe: 25 yrs old, games: 258, goals: 89, ratio: 1 every 2.9 games gabby: 21 yrs old, games: 78, goals:17, ratio: 1 every 4.6 games like i said, i could be wrong, but we'd never know .. the stats above speak for my position though

January 08, 2008 | url

Chrisodon said:

I can see damians point in tearms of goals

January 08, 2008

andy5759 said:

It's hard not to agree with Damian, though the heart would go for Gabby every time. One of the other Villa sites said that Defoe is an evangelical Christian, as if that would put us off - we had an Angel up front once!! The Laursen story; perhaps a bit of a PR puff to up the ante? He's still talking, so there's still hope (I hope).

January 08, 2008

Dizzy Mugs said:

I agree with Damian, Defoe over Gabi. However, i would rather we stay clear from Defoe. Even though i think Defoe is a better player, Gabi plays with real determination and can win games, sure he's not a genuine striker, he's more of a 200m sprinter than a striker, but i'd still play him.

January 08, 2008 | url

taglor said:

I just ate curly fries with bbq sauce, now I'm going to watch the x-files.

January 08, 2008

kohoutek said:

After watching Defoe take that half-chance at Villa Park so assuredly, I say bring him in. Let Moore go, if necessary. At least two strikers in would give us good options, and a nice change-up at any time. I also agree about the creative midfielder. That's the real missing piece, one we'll sorely need when we're in Europe next year. Besides, we need numbers (obviously), if we're going to be playing in Europe, and keeping our place in the league and making runs at cups. Should be more than enough games for everyone. Don't know whether Defoe values bright lights over furthering his career. Guess we'll find out. If Chelsea are interested, Villa can't be too far off the mark bringing him in.

January 08, 2008

on the pee my lord, on the pee said:

Defoe, Gabby, Carew and Doyle ... that is a UEFA cup challengin strike force ... not moore and harewood. Standard of the squad needs improvin and when quality like Defoe come along, u cant afford to reject the chance to get him, sign him up! And for gods sake, sign a right back!!!

January 08, 2008

Woodinho said:

Curly fries Taglor... good, but not as good as the steak cut chips I just had with my pizza, beans and fruity sauce! Anyway about the stats Damo threw up, are they realy the reason you would prefer Defoe? I mean c'mon... who's to say Gabby wont be top scorer for the next 4 years??? He would only need 18 goals a season to catch up with Defoes 89 goals by the time he's 25! And that could mean one blistering season from Gabby of 25 goals and 3 with 18 goals and 14 and 15 goals. If stats could be trusted my bets would win more often, I'd be rich, but more than often they dont! Anyway I'd welcome Defoe as long as we bought someone who (like I said earlier) could put a decent pass through to him! But then if Gabby and Carew had decent supply they'd be just as good!

January 08, 2008

Kieran McGrath said:

id welcome defoe to villa before anelka, anelka if he came to villa (which he wont) wouldnt stay long all he wants is money he doesnt care about where he is playing, as soon as another club came and was offering a nice signing on fee he would be off in a shot. i think possibly we could get defoe on loan for the rest of the season if we cant sign him permanantly, doyle i would welcome but dont think he would be first choice to play if carew and defoe were fit (if we sign defoe) this would mean gabby to play right mid

January 08, 2008

andy5759 said:

I used not to like brown sauce - but I persevered and now love it! Only to see the landmark go. Keiran's comment about Anelka is bang on. Defoe has made all the right noises about wanting to stay and fight for his place, whereas Anelka's history puts him into a different category. If we found ourselves in the top 4 though I would like Anelka, for his experience and proven quality. He's played in a lot of countries, which must make him much more experienced for Europe than many other candidates. Just wait for MON to pull a rabbit out of the hat now that he's had more time to assess what he's got and what he needs. I love the tension, it's like foreplay, although so far it's gone no further (frustrating).

January 08, 2008

Thegreatdando said:

I'm sorry, but I just do not see anyone coming in during this window, not through want of trying, but simply because no one is available. Come Feb 1st we are going to have a lot of disapointed Villa fans i'm afraid.

January 08, 2008

Dizzy Mugs said:

Texas BBQ sauce is the best Taglor, try it out

January 08, 2008 | url

Leroy said:

Defoe, Doyle either one will give us better options. But if Laursen doesnt resign we are up s**t creek. He carried Knight earlier on and coached Davies through his first start. He is such a big player for us and we should resign him regardless. Id like Mellberg to stay but hes not as influencial as Laursen. Expect Hoyte, Barnes and Doyle in, "cheaper" local options again...

January 09, 2008

Villa_Rules said:

DEFOE Is a plonker they told him he can leave yet he wants to stay. Im startin to think its because of london he wants to stay because any other player that is not gettin games at his current club would want to move on. So Defoe is stayin for london and the money

January 09, 2008

Kieran McGrath said:

think he might go back to west ham, because they have money and are in need of a goal scorer since tevez left, and west ham is in london. in my opinion its stupid, why not join one of the premierships biggest teams that are going to be playing european football next season, instead of staying at tottenham

January 09, 2008

Beast said:

Found this on the sky sports site, how true it is I dunno: "I have reliable sources at Villa Park who have told me that both Kevin Doyle and Defoe will sign for Villa next week and also that Wes Brown, James Milner and Matthew Upson will also join the Villians."

January 09, 2008

ozavfc21 said:

oh dear oh dear beast you dreamin again wes brown?? milner nah and don't forget where upson takes it up mate. defoe won't come(thank god) and can't see us signing too many in this window.laursen is just spouting off to gee mon up with his contract talks, but maybe we need another centre back because i think zat knight maybe the weak link in there. and i'd pick gabby everytime over defoe.

January 09, 2008

Dickie1160 said:

ASTON VILLA NEWS : I am reliably informed that the deal for Giles Barnes is nearing it's completion, however, Boss Martin O'Neill has cooled his interest in Kevin Doyle as he has been encouraged by Spurs boss Juande Ramos to make a bid for Jermain Defoe (his number 1 long term target). O'Neill will then move to complete a deal for another of his long term targets... Jose Boswingwa. Further January targets include Lassana Diarra of Arsenal and John Arne Riise of Liverpool. I will keep you posted with developments at Villa Park throughout January !!!

January 09, 2008 | url

ozavfc21 said:

apparently danielle lloyd is looking for a 2m home for her and jermain defoe in the midlands so maybe just maybe....

January 10, 2008

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