Football
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Toronto FC want Jermain Defoe to stay but will listen to transfer offers

FC Toronto general manager Tim Bezbatchenko has stated his hope that English striker Jermain Defoe will return for a second season in Major League Soccer, but admits his club will listen to offers for the striker.

Defoe scored 11 goals in 19 appearances for Toronto last season, but he is reported to have come close to signing for his former West Ham, Portsmouth and Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp at Queens Park Rangers last summer.

The Loftus Road rumour has resurfaced as Defoe is being strongly linked with a move there in the upcoming January transfer window, though Redknapp recently denied interest in Defoe or fellow MLS star and 2014 league MVP Robbie Keane.

Toronto president Tim Leiweke suggested he did not expect Defoe to play for the club again back in September, yet Bezbatchenko has insisted Defoe has not asked to leave Toronto and he spoke in upbeat terms about his return to the squad for pre-season training.

"We're planning on him getting back," said Bezbatchenko in the Daily Mirror. "The player has never indicated that he doesn't want to be here. There is a community around him that has indicated in various ways that they can be here or elsewhere, but from him, no.

"If someone comes and there's an offer, we'll consider it. We're planning to have him on our team, but we have contingencies."

Premier League strugglers Leicester City have also been linked with a move for Defoe. At the age of 32, it seems as if the striker who has scored 123 goals in the top division of English football -- putting him in 14th place on the all-time list -- is still a man in demand.

Defoe struggled to play a role for Toronto at the back end of the MLS season as he struggled with a groin injury that required surgery.

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