Simon Jordan and Jamie Carragher react to Jermain Defoe's shock Sunderland departure

The 39-year-old announced on Thursday morning that he would be seeing out the season with Sunderland, after making an emotional return to the club on deadline day in January.

Defoe made seven appearances in his second spell at the club, but says he was struggling

He also said he did not want to potentially block playing opportunities for other players.

Sunderland's striking options are now thin, though Nathan Broadhead is expected to return from a hamstring injury after the international break.

And there has been much reaction from the footballing world.

Ex-Liverpool man turned Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher tweeted: “Congratulations @IAmJermainDefoe on a great career & what a goalscorer you were! Good luck in the future. I used to love our battles!”

Meanwhile, talkSPORT presenter Simon Jordan had this to say on Defoe’s departure from the Stadium of Light.

On Defoe’s retirement and the striker's plans for the future, Jordan said: “He loves his football and he has had a great career.

"After 22 years, there’s always a possibility you want to change and so something different but you know what you’re good at.

"And if he’s good at football then that’s perhaps the lane he should be involved in. If he is going to get his coaching badges then I think that is a good thing.

"We need to keep the talent pool that can deal with developing strikers and of course, his ethnicity comes into play because we want to see more black players to get into coaching.

"And I am pleased to see that he is considering that because the way he speaks lends you to the belief that he is still a very effective and balanced young man.

"At 39 years old, he’s still a young man and he is unaffected by the trappings of his career, his success and the finances that have gone with it.

"I hope he does stay in the game and I hope he does go and get his coaching badges because I think there will be an opportunity for him to be a good coach I suspect.”

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