By Michael Ramsay

AS Jermain Defoe edges towards becoming Sunderland’s marquee signing of this transfer window, Gus Poyet will hope that the former Tottenham striker can provide the required impetus to allay relegation fears.

Having previously placed his faith in a host of players drafted in from overseas with no prior experience of the league, the Uruguayan has seemingly gone with the tried-and-tested formula of a player who was a virtual ever-present in the Premier League over the last decade before his Toronto switch.

Averaging just 0.85 goals per game this season, Sunderland’s goalscoring woes have had supporters despairing as their side have failed to build on the electrifying late-season form of last time around. The failure to acquire Fabio Borini on a permanent deal was a blow, and the over-reliance on winger Adam Johnson to provide the creative spark has also been a cause of concern for the boss. The contribution, or lack thereof, from Jozy Altidore and Steven Fletcher has been minimal at best, while Connor Wickham has failed to replicate his goal surge during the spring of last year.

Provided Defoe completes his transfer to Wearside, the club will acquire a top-class striker with a wealth of domestic and international experience to fall back on.

Concerns may be raised about his age and fitness, considering the extent of his injury woes in Canada, but a fit and firing Defoe is a frightening prospect for any defender in the league.

At 32, he won’t be at the peak of his powers and he probably won’t be forcing his way back into the England reckoning with the likes of Harry Kane and Saido Berahino rising to the fore. However, he could still provide the Black Cats with the necessary goals to turn those draws and defeats into victories. And he’s got to be a better option than Danny Graham.

So what are the benefits in signing Defoe?

EXPERIENCE

At the age of 32, there is no denying that he has been around the block. With over ten years of Premier League experience on his side, the former Spurs striker can boast a healthy strike rate of 19 goals in 55 appearances for the England national side. A career spanning five different clubs, Defoe has managed to bag an impressive 124 strikes in the English top-flight, and will be looking to move further up the all-time top scorers chart should his move to Wearside materialise.

With most of Poyet’s recent captures having had little experience in the league prior to their move to the Stadium of Light, a player of Defoe’s ilk and vast expertise could prove invaluable as the Uruguayan looks to shield off relegation for another year.

FIREPOWER

Throughout his career, Defoe has been a clinical finisher with a deadly instinct for goal. A pure-bred finisher, the Spurs striker has terrorised defences throughout his career with his evasive movement, explosive pace and pinpoint accuracy in front of goal.

Defoe's presence as a member of the 100-plus goal club in the Premier League will see him move above Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink into 11th with just four more strikes.

Sunderland’s profligacy in front of goal has been well-documented, with Wickham, Altidore and Fletcher amassing just six goals between them this campaign. An experienced finisher with the ability to put the ball in the net is desperately needed at the Stadium of Light if the Black Cats are to beat the drop.

FLEXIBLE FORMATION

Sunderland have scored just 18 goals so far this campaign. In terms of turning their host of draws into wins, Poyet’s insistence on playing one up front is not paying dividends. Defoe has played his entire career alongside a partner in a traditional 4-4-2, forming devastating partnerships with the likes of Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov and Peter Crouch on his travels.

While modern football seems to be slowly moving away from the days of the strike partnership double-act, Poyet may feel he needs to take an old-fashioned stance if he is to get the best out of Defoe. Combining the physical prowess of Fletcher or Wickham alongside the pace of the former West Ham hitman could prove an inspired tactic.

HUNGER

There’s never a hungrier player than a man with a point to prove. The last 18 months have been something of a nightmare on a professional level for the former England international, having been frozen out at White Hart Lane, omitted from Roy Hodgson’s World Cup squad and criticised by Toronto supporters for a perceived lack of commitment.

Having left for Canada a year ago with the goal of forcing his way into the World Cup squad following a lack of first-team opportunities at Tottenham, Defoe was left ‘heartbroken’ by Hodgson’s snub and described it as ‘the lowest point’ of his career.

To make matters worse, his time in Toronto has been dogged by injury, with frustrations from the supporters publicly unsettling their star signing.

Sunderland have history with allowing players the platform to vent their frustration, with Darren Bent silencing his critics with a bagful of goals following his £15m move from White Hart Lane in 2009. A Premier League goalscorer raring to prove a few people wrong can be a deadly proposition.

A DEBUT GOAL

Some players just have the knack of making a good first impression. Bent has scored on his debut for five separate clubs and Defoe possesses a similar knack. Ever since bursting onto the scene as a 17-year-old at West Ham, the former England international has netted on his debut for all five clubs he has signed for.

First was a winning goal for the Hammers in a League Cup tie with Walsall, before he joined Bournemouth on a season-long loan where he found the net against Stoke in October 2000. He would go on to score on his debut for Tottenham in a 4-3 home win over Portsmouth in February 2004, before netting for the same opponents in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea when he joined them for £6m four years later.

A return to White Hart Lane the following January brought yet another debut goal, again against Portsmouth, before making a bright start to life in the MLS in January of last year with a two-goal salvo against Seattle Sounders in his first game.

Defoe’s first outing in a Black Cat jersey could potentially come at his old stomping ground, White Hart Lane, this Saturday. What a place that would be to keep up his record.