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| Bournemouth are willing to offer Jermaine Defoe a way out of Sunderland |
BOURNEMOUTH are ready to make a move for misfit Jermain Defoe, who wants out of struggling Sunderland after just eight months.
The former England striker wants a move back south and Premier League new boys Bournemouth are interested if they can come to an agreement on his £70,000-a-week wages.
The Cherries are desperate to reinforce their forward line after two successive defeats.
Defoe, now 32, joined Sunderland in January on a three-and-a-half-year contract after an ill-starred year in the MLS, where he scored 12 goals in 17 games for Toronto. He scored four more to help save Sunderland from the drop, but they have started disastrously this season, conceding seven goals in their first two outings.
At the beginning of his career, Defoe had a loan spell at Bournemouth from West Ham when the Dorset club were in the Second Sivision in 2000-01, and he scored a remarkable 18 goals in 29 matches - including netting in 10 consecutive games, equalling a post-war League record.
Cherries manager Eddie Howe is also interested in Crystal Palace striker Glenn Murray and Stoke midfielder Steve Sidwell.
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| Defoe has been linked with a move back down to the south coast |
It has been a tough start to life in the top flight for Eddie Howe's team, with single-goal defeats against Aston Villa and Liverpool.
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| Matt Ritchie believes Bournemouth must continue playing attractive passing football |
Howe guided Bournemouth to promotion last season on a platform of attractive passing football, and midfielder Matt Ritchie thinks they should carry on playing that way.
He said: "We don't know how to play in any other way. Since I arrived at the football club when we were in League One, I've never played even 10 minutes for the gaffer where he wants us to pump it or play direct.
"We have always believed in what we do, passing the ball out from the back, working our patterns and partnerships throughout the pitch. That's what we are best at and we won't wander away from that."
Ritchie also says the players who have helped Bournemouth rise through the divisions must prove Howe is right to stick with them.
The back four who played in Monday's 1-0 defeat at Anfield - Simon Francis, Tommy Elphick, Steve Cook and Charlie Daniels - all played in Bournemouth's last Merseyside visit, a 0-0 draw at Tranmere in League One in April 2013.
Ritchie said: "The club's been on an amazing journey but we need to step up to the mark now.
"We don't just want to make up the numbers. We want to put a marker down and make sure we don't just survive but are competitive in the Premier League."
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