SUNDERLAND are expected to complete the signing of Jermain Defoe’s today and Seb Larsson hopes the striker can make the sort of impact on Wearside that Harry Kane has at Saturday’s opponents Tottenham Hotspur.

Defoe was on Wearside to thrash out the terms of a three-and-a-half year deal and complete a medical yesterday ahead of his proposed move from Major League Soccer Canadian outfit Toronto FC.

The 32-year-old striker could make his Black Cats debut against his former club at White Hart Lane provided the deal, which is thought to include Jozy Altidore moving in the opposite direction, is completed by 12pm tomorrow.

Defoe spent almost a decade at the North London club over two spells before moving to the MLS twelve months ago. There, the former England international scored 11 goals in 19 appearances and Black Cats head coach Gus Poyet will hope he can produce a similar record at the Stadium of Light.

Only Aston Villa have scored fewer than Sunderland this season and having watched Kane single-handedly shoot Spurs into the top six, Larsson admits the Wearsiders are crying out for someone who can alleviate their problems in front of goal.

“I suppose that’s the thing in football, scoring goals. That’s what you need to do in football,” the midfielder said. “We haven’t scored enough as a team and that’s what we have to do. We have to create a few more chances and score a few more goals.

“In Spurs’ case they’ve found someone in form, banging a few goals in. Of course it’s going to help you win games that maybe you don’t deserve and get points when you’re struggling. We’ll keep looking for that.

“In the window you always want to add to your squad. When the window closes you’d always like a few additions and to have a stronger team with more competition for places.

“Hopefully that’s the case but I’ve been quite good at staying away from the rumours this season because I didn’t know much about that (Defoe).

“He’s a proven goalscorer, so that’s great. But I haven’t heard much about it – maybe I haven’t watched enough telly or read enough newspapers. But whoever comes in we’ll welcome it and hopefully they will make the team better.”

Sunderland travel to White Hart Lane looking for their first Premier League win since December 21, when they beat rivals Newcastle at St James’ Park.

Two of the Black Cats’ three wins this term have come away from the Stadium of Light and Poyet’s men have recorded 11 of their 20 points on the road.

Mauricio Pochettino’s team are unbeaten at home since November 9, but Larsson believes Sunderland have more confidence going into away games because their set-up is better suited to frustrating home teams.

He said: “It probably has suited us quite well at times and hopefully it will continue to do that for the rest of the season.

“The home form has definitely not been what we’ve wanted it to be. We’ve played quite a few of the big teams at home and not picked up points. It does add pressure.

“You want to give your home fans something to cheer about but that’s what we’ve got to work on, that’s why we’re here every day. We want to make sure we put that right. Keep picking up points away from home, sort the home form out and I’m sure we’ll be okay.

“We’ve done quite well in certain ways. Maybe when we’ve played here against some teams they’ve been the team who have been a bit more solid and we’ve been too open.

“It doesn’t suit us too well to be open. But that’s the next step. To break teams down is the next thing and we’re working hard at it. The manager is desperate for us to improve a lot in that area and hopefully we will. We’ve got to keep working hard and hopefully get that home win very soon.”

The Wearsiders sit a point above the bottom three after Saturday’s defeat to Liverpool, but Larsson insists their position is not cause for concern just yet

“You can say, ‘We should have won this, we should have won that,’ but at the end of the day we’ve got the points we’ve got,” the Sweden international said.

“It could have been better but I suppose some people would say it could have been worse as well. You’ve just got to accept what you’ve got and move on.

“The manager’s spoken to us a lot about being better than last year. We have been doing okay but at the same time he says he hates the word okay.

“We all agree with him there that we would like to do a little bit better because we feel like it’s definitely within our reach. It’s a good feeling to have because we know we’re not too far away.

“That’s the feeling in the camp, regardless of what other people think.”