Celtic should battle Crystal Palace for Jermain Defoe to replace Leigh Griffiths

By Sam Preston

Crystal Palace’s Premier League survival bid this season has been undermined by an inability to score goals and they have identified Jermain Defoe as a short-term solution to those woes, according to the Sun.

Roy Hodgson is reportedly keen to engineer a reunion with the striker he worked with during his time as England manager, but he is not the only boss facing a striking crisis at the moment.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers revealed yesterday that Leigh Griffiths is taking an indefinite break from football to deal with off-pitch issues, which pertain to his mental health.

Griffiths has shown immense strength already in facing up to his demons and his recovery is of course much more important than how Rodgers goes about finding goals in his absence.

(Photo by AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)

But the fact remains that Odsonne Edouard is now the only senior available striker Rodgers has at his disposal and he cannot carry Celtic’s hopes on his shoulders through the whole season.

Celtic will be hoping the Frenchman can get through to January before bringing in reinforcements and battling Palace for Defoe would be a good idea on that front.

Defoe simply isn’t getting games at Bournemouth but he is a proven goalscorer and would relish the pressure and expectation that comes from wearing the green and white hoops.