Sunderland manager David Moyes has said that he would not be surprised if Jermain Defoe was included in the England squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Slovakia.
The 33-year-old made it two goals in three appearances at the start of the new campaign with a penalty during this afternoon's 1-1 draw with Southampton at St Mary's.
Defoe played a major role in helping Sunderland to survival under Sam Allardyce last season, and with Allardyce now in charge of the national team, Moyes is hopeful that the striker will earn his first international recall since 2013.
"I wouldn't be surprised at all. Jermain Defoe's a goalscorer. And he's got that ability to score out of very little. Sam [Allardyce] knows him better than me, he's worked longer with him than me. What I've seen of him so far he's a really good pro, that's what I like about him. He wants to do things right and be in a good condition. He's certainly not someone that's enjoying the latter days of his career, that's for sure," he told reporters.
"I'd love to have a Sunderland player in the England squad. That would be the first start. We started at Everton like that. Hopefully you get someone in, and then I'd hope to get two players in the England squad, and then three and build it up so that we have a squad of top international players. If Jermain Defoe's the start and the lead, I'll be thrilled.
"At our club we're trying to give ourselves every chance of being talked about and building the club up. If you get England players you get talked about more. We really need his goals, he took his penalty kick really well and earned it as well. We need him to score. He's a really good finisher, he's been carrying a bit of a thigh strain so we just need to check to see he's okay."
Allardyce is expected to name his first England squad on Sunday.
Barney Corkhill
