Jermain Colin Defoe is an English former professional footballer who played for Tottenham Hotspur in two separate spells, from 2004 to 2008, and from 2009 to 2014.
Defoe joined Tottenham in February 2004 for an initial fee of £6 million, rising to £7 million depending on "specific performance criteria", and with Bobby Zamora joining West Ham. Manager David Pleat said, "I can't think of a British striker at his age who has achieved as much in such a short space of time. His goal record for a 21-year-old is quite exceptional. I hope he will have a fine career at Tottenham." Defoe marked his arrival at Tottenham with a goal on his debut in the 4–3 home win over Portsmouth in February 2004 and added a further six in the remainder of 2003–04, scoring 7 goals in 15 matches. He then scored 13 goals in 36 matches in the Premier League, including a hat-trick in a 5–1 win over Southampton in December 2004, and nine goals in eight matches in the FA Cup and League Cup, in 2004–05. He also received the club's Player of the Year award for the 2004 calendar year, as voted by season ticket holders and Spurs members. Despite speculation linking him with other clubs, Defoe signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with Tottenham in April 2005. The following season was not as profitable for Defoe, and Spurs manager Martin Jol used Defoe in rotation with Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov and Mido providing the competition for a starting position. Defoe started 23 times and came on as substitute 13 times, scoring nine goals.
Defoe made 49 league and cup appearances for Tottenham, scoring 18 goals, during 2006–07 as Tottenham competed in the UEFA Cup as well as the domestic competitions. He appeared to bite West Ham player Javier Mascherano on the shoulder during Tottenham's 1–0 win over West Ham in October 2006, sparking a melee between players of both teams. The FA declined to take action against Defoe as the referee, Steve Bennett, had booked Defoe for the incident. Defoe scored his 50th goal for Tottenham in the 2–1 win over Aston Villa on Boxing Day in December 2006, in which he scored both goals, and scored in Tottenham's 2–0 win over Charlton in May 2007, which condemned his former club to relegation to the Championship. During the summer of 2007, there was speculation about Defoe's future at Tottenham following the arrival of Darren Bent for a fee of £16.5 million. However, Defoe insisted that he would stay at Tottenham and fight for his place, saying, "I'm really excited about the new season and the prospect of another campaign in Europe. We have made some good signings and are now stronger and better equipped to compete in all competitions."
On 20 September 2007, Defoe came on as a substitute against Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta to score twice in a 6–1 win, his first goals of the season. On 25 November 2007, he missed a penalty against former club West Ham at the Boleyn Ground in added time which would have won the match for Spurs; the match finished 1–1.
Defoe joined Portsmouth in January 2008 for £7,500,000.
In January 2009, Portsmouth chairman Peter Storrie revealed Defoe's intentions to leave the club in the near future. This came after joining the club only in the same transfer window of the previous year. It was reported that Defoe's former club Tottenham made a formal approach for the striker, but no agreement was reached; Spurs manager Harry Redknapp described the clubs as "miles apart in their valuation of the player", suggesting that Portsmouth wanted "in excess of £20 million". After negotiations, Portsmouth accepted a bid from Tottenham thought to be around £15.75 million (including fees owed to Tottenham for the previous transfers of Younes Kaboul and Pedro Mendes and waiving a £4 million sell-on clause that had also been negotiated during his transfer from Spurs to Portsmouth) on 6 January 2009. The player had agreed to a five-year contract and was confirmed as a Tottenham player by his new club on 9 January 2009. Defoe was presented at White Hart Lane with a carnival atmosphere before the start of Spurs' League Cup clash against Burnley after his return to White Hart Lane.
Defoe made his return debut on 11 January 2009 in a Premier League match against Wigan Athletic. He scored his first goal against former club Portsmouth at White Hart Lane on 18 January 2009, in a match which finished 1–1. He also scored his team's second goal in the League Cup semi-final second leg loss at Burnley, which helped Spurs book a place in the final with a 6–4 aggregate win. He scored three goals in his first four matches before suffering a broken foot which meant that he returned for Spurs against Newcastle United on 19 April in which the club won 1–0. He scored his first goal since his return from injury in a 2–1 win against Manchester City and helped his team secure eighth place in the league.
On 19 August 2009, Defoe scored the third hat-trick of his career in a 5–1 away victory over Hull City in the second match of the 2009–10 Premier League. Following the match, his manager Harry Redknapp stated his high opinion of Defoe: "With [Cristiano] Ronaldo gone, he can push to be the [Premier League] top scorer." After a fine run of form which saw him score seven goals for club and country, Defoe was named Premier League Player of the Month for August 2009. On 12 September 2009, Defoe scored after 38 seconds with an overhead kick against 2008–09 Premier League champions Manchester United in a match which ended in a 3–1 loss for Tottenham, taking his tally for the 2009–10 league season to five goals in five matches. On 23 September 2009, Defoe scored a header during Tottenham's 5–1 win over Preston. Defoe scored a goal and was sent off during the match against his former club, Portsmouth.
Defoe scored five goals at White Hart Lane in a 9–1 thrashing of Wigan on 22 November 2009. This included the second-fastest hat-trick in Premier League history, which was scored in seven minutes. In doing so, Defoe became only the third player to score five goals in one Premier League match, after Alan Shearer and Andy Cole. Dimitar Berbatov and Sergio Agüero have subsequently equalled this feat. After the match, Harry Redknapp further asserted his belief that Defoe would go on to be the Premier League's top scorer in 2009–10. Redknapp later said that although Wayne Rooney is the best all-round attacking player, Defoe is the best finisher in England and should be a regular for the English national team. On 3 February, Defoe claimed his third hat-trick of the season in an FA Cup fourth-round replay against Leeds United at Elland Road, with Spurs winning 3–1. His rich vein of form continued on 21 February with another goal in the Premier League, against Wigan. Defoe's next goal was a penalty in Tottenham's win against Chelsea, which itself followed a famous 2–1 win over Arsenal. This took his tally to 24 goals for the season.
Defoe played his part in Tottenham qualifying for the UEFA Champions League group stage, thanks to a controversial goal against Young Boys, where he appeared to use his arm before scoring the second goal of the match, which finished 4–0 to Tottenham. He was injured in the beginning of September when he was on duty with England, He made his comeback in Tottenham's 3–2 victory against Arsenal in the North London derby. He won a header which started the attack in which Gareth Bale scored five minutes in the second half to begin the comeback from 2–0 down to a 3–2 victory.
On 26 December 2010, Defoe received a straight red card, his first of the season and first since 17 October 2009, in a match at Aston Villa; his team leading at the time went on to secure the win despite playing over an hour with ten men. Defoe began Tottenham's 2010–11 FA Cup campaign with a brace of goals in the third round match at home to Charlton Athletic on 9 January 2011, with Spurs winning 3–0, but in the following round, they were defeated by Fulham.
In the 2010–11 Premier League, Defoe scored his first league goals of the season on 6 March 2011 against Wolverhampton Wanderers, getting the first two for Spurs in a 3–3 draw. He scored his third goal of the 2010–11 season with a long-range shot with his left foot against West Bromwich Albion. This was a triple landmark for Defoe, as it was his 100th Premier League goal as well as his 100th goal scored as a Tottenham player. In addition, it signified the 1,000th goal scored for Tottenham in the Premier League era.
In pre-season, Defoe scored two goals, one coming in a 3–0 win against Orlando Pirates on 23 July, and the other in a 2–1 win against Athletic Bilbao at White Hart Lane on 6 August. Defoe started 2011–12 by scoring in a 5–0 win against Hearts in a UEFA Europa League play-off match on 18 August. His first Premier League goal of the season came in a 2–0 win at Wolves, scoring the second goal after exchanging passes with Niko Kranjcar. Defoe's first goal of 2012 came in a 1–0 home win against West Brom, converting a Gareth Bale cross. He scored on the last day of the season against Fulham, the second in a 2–0 win. Defoe ended the season with 17 goals in 38 matches across all competitions;[98] in the Premier League, he scored 11 in 25 appearances, of which only 11 were starts.
Defoe started by scoring on the opening day of the 2012–13 Premier League against Newcastle United in a 2–1 defeat. On 30 August 2012, Defoe signed a new three-year contract with Tottenham. He scored the 200th goal of his club career in a 4–2 defeat to Chelsea on 20 October and on 8 November, he scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 win against Slovenian club Maribor in the Europa League. In doing so, he overtook Teddy Sheringham on Tottenham's all-time goalscorers list. On 21 April 2013, Defoe scored his 15th goal of the season in the home match against Manchester City, a 3–1 win. The goal took him level with Alan Gilzean in joint-seventh place on the all-time Tottenham scorers list.
Defoe started 2013–14 as a substitute, with newly signed striker Roberto Soldado starting for Tottenham. Nonetheless, manager Andre Villas-Boas Villas-Boas used him as a first-choice striker for their opening matches in the Europa League, and on 29 August he scored his first goals of the campaign in a 3–0 home win against Dinamo Tbilisi. The result took Tottenham through to the group stages via an 8–0 aggregate victory after winning 5–0 in the first leg. On 19 September, Defoe scored twice in a 3–0 victory against Tromsø in the Europa League group stages, taking his tally in Europe to within two goals of the record holder, Martin Chivers. On 24 September 2013, Defoe scored another two in a 4–0 win against Aston Villa in the League Cup, which took his tally for Tottenham to 139 goals, moving him past George Hunt as the club's fifth-highest scorer of all-time. His goal on 3 October against Anzhi Makhachkala in a 2–0 win took him to one short of the club's all-time record of 22 held by Chivers. Two further goals, against Sheriff Tiraspol in two consecutive fixtures in the Europa League, saw Defoe with 23 European goals, one more than Chivers' previous record as Tottenham's highest European goalscorer. Defoe said Chivers had been at the match and had encouraged him to beat his record.
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| Preceded by | Shirt number 18 | Succeeded by |
|---|---|---|
 Ben Thatcher(2000-2003) |
Jermain Defoe (2004-2008) |
Fraizer Campbell (2008-2009) |
| Fraizer Campbell (2008-2009) |
Jermain Defoe (2009-2014) |
Harry Kane (2014-2015) |
| Preceded by | Shirt number 25 | Succeeded by |
| Aaron Lennon (2005-2008) |
Jermain Defoe (2009) |
Danny Rose (2010-2012) |