Defoe…

I'm with Mersey in saying no to Darren Bent - he hasn't looked remotely good or interested in this league for the best part of a decade. I can't agree that Defoe offers nothing more than Vardy though - Defoe is a decent finisher in this league. The problem is whether he'd contribute enough in build-up and whether we'd be able to create enough chances for him.

Blackstarr - what I mean to say is he's not a natural finisher. Give him enough chances and he will of course score goals.

The problem is he used to create a lot of those chances with his pace running off the last man - can he still do that any better than Vardy was what I meant.

I can obviously put the ball in the net, but Gary Lineker, Tony Cottee, Sergio Aguero he is not.

Did you also just mention Tony Cottee in the same breath as Sergio Aguero? just kidding

I see your point - he still has pace at 32 and to be honest when he gets a chance he tends to take it - whereas Nugent, Vardy etc often need 3 or 4. Thats the difference with Defoe and what makes him so good at this level....that will come for Vardy but he needs more experience.

Dunge, I think its a case of taking what you can get. Defoe on £80k a week would be a target for someone like QPR and his allegedly, his preference would be to link up with Harry again.

Bent at 30 still has something to give I feel and represents a realistic target. He hasn't been given a proper chance at Villa and was playing in a poor Fulham team on loan.

You say he hasn't been good for the best part of a decade but he scored 36 in 63 at Sunderland before leaving to joint Villa in 2011 which has pretty much ruined his career. He scored 9 in 16 in this division before being treated awfully by Paul Lambert who doesn't rate him.

Bents record in this division far outweighs anybody we have in our team and most of the championship strikers we have been linked with. In a one on one situation, I'd trust Bent to find the back of the net over Wood, Nugent or Vardy....

Defoe would be great but surely £6m plus £60K a week is a little steep for us... I heard this is what is stopping QPR for his signature. As for Bent I would love to see him here on a loan with option to buy, I think he will score goals given a run in a team....both would be nice by Monday and then we've got the best part of a month to sign a LB and CB

"a decent source within the club"

I'm thinking that their source may well be the player himself. This is partly because we know how incandescent NP became when someone in the club leaked the Cambiasso deal in the summer. It is a brave soul that would risk a Pearson thermonuclear hairdryer by leaking the Defoe negotiations.

But it's also because when Defoe was looking to rebut a spiteful tirade from Toronto's president, Tim Leiweke, a couple of months back, he chose a lengthy interview with the Guardian as his vehicle. It suggests that he trusts the paper to use what he tells them responsibly, not spin it into a tasty headline. (If this story had appeared in any red-top, instead of a sober 'Defoe chooses Leicester' it would have been a hysterical 'Slap in the face for 'Arry' ).

That was a good interview, by the way. He's a thoughtful player, and quite articulate in his own way.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/oct/28/jermain-defoe-toronto-taunts-hurt-premier-league-england

Looks like QPR are about to sign Zuarate from West Ham, wonder if this clears the way for Defoe to sign for us!

I genuinely cannot believe some of the excitement here over the prospect of Darren Bent. Granted he used to have something, but he lost it a long, long time ago. Defoe, I have some reservations about and I, too, think he'd surely prefer QPR, but I'd be fine with the signing. Bent is an absolute no.

Don't get me wrong Dunge, if I thought we could pull in the likes of Aaron Lennon and Defoe I wouldn't be talking about Darren Bent.

The concern for me is that our other reported targets were Shaun Maloney at Wigan and a possible 2nd move for David McGoldrick. Against those players I would rather have someone who has proven time and time again that he can take his chances at this level.

He has a lot of premier league know how and if it hadn't have been for Paul Lambert would likely be forming a good partnership for Villa with Benteke - he's still rated by Villa fans.

Its just opinion, but hey, Steve McClaren is certainly no mug when it comes to signing players for Derby and I'm sure he'll be taking his chances for them.

Correct. Change from when he was the mug of England years ago. Having said that, he isn't a top manager, let's be honest, he did nowt in the top division. Makes Pearson appear as mr personality.