Jermain Defoe Wants Away From Spurs, But Harry Redknapp Says No

Jermaine Defoe wants out, but it didn't take long for Harry Redknapp to put the kibosh on that. You would think that most players would love playing on a team that is tied for second in the Premier League, but Jermain Defoe isn't loving his time at Tottenham Hotspur and for good reason. The striker wants to play for England in Euro 2012.

Not starting regularly for your club is not a good way to make the team for Euro, but that the situation Defoe is in and that's the situation he is going to stay in.. Defoe would like to make a move away from White Hart Lane to a team where he could play more regularly this January and his agent met with Daniel Levy about a possible move, but it doesn't really matter what he wants because Harry Redknapp has insisted that Defoe will stay at Spurs.

"Daniel [Levy] spoke to his agent who said he is not happy because he wants to play and he has got a few clubs in for him," Redknapp said. "I am sure he has got a few clubs in for him but we are not selling him. He is saying this club wants him and that club wants him – that is how they make their money. He is not moving anywhere, though. He is on contract here and is a big player for us."

You can't blame Defoe for eying a Euro place, but the reality is that he isn't going anywhere. Tottenham are unlikely to break the bank for another striker and the team is already short on strikers with only three. Unless that "special player" that Redknapp has hinted at is a striker and the deal actually gets done, Defoe will be a Spurs player at least through the end of the season.

It is not as if Defoe is being frozen out either. With Aaron Lennon going down with injuries semi-regularly and Rafael van der Vaart seemingly always battling some sort of muscle injury, Defoe is always on the cusp of starting and if he doesn't then he's usually the first man off the bench. He has made 21 appearances this season so he does get his fair share of playing time. Defoe may have his eyes on a Euro place, but it is not happening. As Harry said, Defoe is going nowhere.