Defoe signs contract at Spurs to end transfer rumours

Jermain Defoe has signed an improved four-and-a-half-year contract with Tottenham Hotspur.

Jermain Defoe has signed an improved four-and-a-half-year contract with Tottenham Hotspur.

The 22-year-old England forward was linked earlier this season with a move to Chelsea so Tottenham's head coach Martin Jol was happy to have the matter dealt with. "I am delighted and so is he," Jol said. "He's happy here. He's played a big part in our season because he's scored 24 goals. I think he can improve on things."

Defoe joined Spurs from West Ham United in February last year, costing £7m. The Hammers, in turn, had lured him away from Charlton Athletic's youth team, and he first hit the headlines when he joined Bournemouth on loan in October 2000 when he scored 10 goals in 10 consecutive league games for the Cherries to equal a post-War goal-scoring record. In all, he hit 19 goals in 31 games for the south-coast club.

Defoe has won eight England caps, scoring once in the World Cup qualifying win away to Poland earlier this season.