Sunderland boss David Moyes says Jermain Defoe is not for sale amid speculation that West Ham will intensify their bid for the veteran striker.
The club rejected a £6m bid from West Ham for the 34-year-old on Wednesday and the Hammers were reportedly willing to double their bid.
“We have said Jermain is not for sale and he is not for sale. West Ham made a bid and we rejected it,” Moyes said.
Defoe is Sunderland’s top scorer with 11 goals in 21 appearances this season.
David Moyes also confirmed Defoe would be involved “in some way” when Sunderland host Burnley in the FA Cup on Saturday.
The England striker joined Sunderland in January 2015 and has scored 33 goals in 74 games including more than 50% of the team’s 19 league goals this season.
Defoe began his career with Charlton Athletic, joining their youth team aged 14, before moving to West Ham United aged 16 and rising through the ranks.
He made his first-team debut for West Ham in 2000, and after a season-long loan spell at Bournemouth during the 2000–01 season, established himself in the West Ham line-up.
After West Ham’s relegation in 2003, a move to Tottenham in January 2004 soon followed, where Defoe played for 4 years before being sold to Portsmouth in January 2008.
He spent one season at Fratton Park before returning to Tottenham in the January 2009 transfer window.
He played for Toronto FC of Major League Soccer in 2014, before returning to England in January 2015 to sign for Sunderland.
