[unitedfan]

Defoe: Ramos Has Given Me The Boot

Jermaine Defoe has sensationally claimed that he has been told by manager Juande Ramos that he can leave the club. A report in The Times suggests, at the same time, that Aston Villa have expressed their interest in him.

It is no secret that Defoe has been unsettled at White Hart Lane over the last year or so. He was restricted to substitute roles under Martin Jol, and the same has been the case under Juande Ramos.

There have been some opportunities for him of late, and the relations between him and the club were supposedly improving. However, a rumoured new deal was yet to be offered, suggesting that work remained to be done.

However, it has all been thrown haywire following declarations from the striker this morning.

“The manager has said I can leave if I want," he told The Sun. "But I want to prove him wrong. I want to stay here.


“He called me into his office and told me. At first, I thought it was a joke.

"I thought he was going to say I would be starting against Arsenal in the Carling Cup, which was why he didn’t give me a game against Reading at the weekend.


“But he just said ‘You can leave if you want to’. Yet I have no intentions of leaving this club because I love it here."


“I would love to sign a new contract - and I know people at the top of the club want me to stay," he continued, backing suggestions that a new deal was close.


“But no one can expect me to sign a new deal if I can’t get a game.


"All I want to do is play football. It would be great to play against Arsenal as it is such a big game.”

The Times claim, at the same time, that Aston Villa have taken the opportunity to express their interest in the player.

Martin O'Neill is looking for a new front man this winter to improve his team's goal scoring ratios, and sees Defoe as just the man to both complement and substitute John Carew.

The valuation of the player is unlikely to be less that £10-12 million, but Villa are ready to meet the price according to the report.

From Goal.com