Former Tottenham and Three Lions forward Jermain Defoe has been appointed by Tottenham as part of the coaching staff of the club’s Academy. The 39-year-old joined Tottenham from Westham in 2004, he departed the club after four years and returned a year after.
Defoe, despite making most of his caps with Tottenham, also played in other clubs’ colours. He scored 287 career goals, with 143 of those goals scored as a Tottenham player.
Tottenham on their website officially announced his return to the club as part of the Academy coaching staff:
We are delighted to announce that Jermain Defoe has returned to the Club as a member of our Academy coaching staff and Club Ambassador.
Popular former striker ‘JD’ needs no introduction to anyone at Spurs, or indeed anyone in the game. A former England international, he scored 143 goals in 363 appearances in our colours over two spells between 2004 and 2014, making him the sixth-highest goalscorer in our history.
Having also represented West Ham United, AFC Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Toronto FC, Sunderland, and Rangers – where he served as a player-coach and helped the Ibrox club lift the SPL title in 2020/21 – he called time on a wonderful playing career in March of this year, with an incredible 305 goals in 762 club matches to his name.
Already part of the fabric of our Club thanks to his work on and off the pitch during his previous spells with us – Jermain was awarded an OBE in 2018 for his charitable work – he now begins the next phase of his career by joining our Academy set-up, where he will work closely alongside our existing coaching team to lend his vast experience and knowledge to young players across the Under-17 to Under-21 age categories.
Jermain also assumes the position of Club Ambassador as part of his new role, which will see him once again assist with the Club’s work in our community, engage with our global fanbase and support club partners.
Welcome home, JD!
