Even though he has not been selected for the Premier league matches as starter, England international Jermain Defoe has been a revelation for Tottenham this season. He is the top scorer at the club right now after scoring numerous goals in the Europa league. He continued the rich vein of form in the 2-0 win over Anzhi Makhachkala on Thursday night. After the match, manager Andre Villas-Boas agreed that the form of Defoe is giving him a lot of selection problems. This is especially true because Roberto Soldado has not been doing well in recent matches.
Even though he conceded this aspect, Villas-Boas hinted that he may have to stick with Soldado for the upcoming Premier league match because of who has played 90 minutes of football only on Thursday night. Recovery time is also very crucial in order to have the team performing in the best possible manner. Defoe is also very close to beating the record held by Martin Chivers for the most number of goals at Tottenham. Villas-Boas said that this would be a great achievement and it shows the quality of the player.
Defoe can be expected to be called to the Premier league starting lineup sooner rather than later. Soldado has not found the back of the net in recent matches.
“We have to judge recovery and the fact that JD was involved today and Soldado wasn’t. Everything will come into consideration. We have been extremely happy with the performances of both. It is a question of deciding what is best for the team. It was another great goal, a great finish. It’s really good to see him out there again doing extremely well whenever he’s given the opportunity. He is a great professional, has a great attitude,” said Villas-Boas after the Anzhi Makhachkala match.