WHEN Jermain Defoe announced his departure from Sunderland in the summer of 2017, in the wake of the club’s relegation to the Championship, he issued a heartfelt goodbye message via his social media accounts.

“I feel blessed to have played for such a great football club, with some of the best fans I’ve ever come across,” wrote Defoe, who was announcing his move to Bournemouth. “The highlight of my time has to be walking out with Bradley against Everton and that volley against Newcastle – a goal people still come up and talk to me about!

“I want to wish everyone at Sunderland the best for the future. There’s some talented players there and some great youngsters pushing through so I can’t wait to see you again, back in the Premier League.”

Well, Sunderland are still not back in the top-flight. But after four-and-a-half years away, Defoe is set to return to the Stadium of Light. Confirmation that the 39-year-old is returning on a short-term deal to the end of the season will provide one of Sunderland’s most popular players from the last two decades with an opportunity to bring his illustrious playing career to a fittingly glorious end.

Had he hung up his boots after playing just nine minutes of football for Rangers in the first half of the season, it would have felt like a jarringly anti-climactic way in which to bow out. If he helps the Black Cats win promotion to the Championship in the next four months, he will leave the stage with the roars of a worshipping Stadium of Light crowd ringing in his ears.

From Defoe’s perspective, the decision to turn down competing interest from Oxford United in order to rejoin Sunderland will have been a simple one. Already loved and revered on Wearside, this will be his chance to cement his status as a genuine club legend. Big crowds, a big club and the chance to win promotion. What is there not to like?

It is also easy to see why Sunderland’s supporters are so thrilled at the prospect of having Defoe back. They idolised him during those Premier League years, partly because of that unforgettable volley against Newcastle, partly because of the remarkable bond he established with Bradley Lowery, but mainly because for all that he might be a Londoner, he instinctively understood what Sunderland was all about.

He was a player who cared, and sadly there have been too few of those in red-and-white as Sunderland have tumbled down the leagues. Defoe will bring glitz and glamour, and even though he turned 39 in October, the promise of much-needed goals.

The key question, with the managerless Black Cats having won just one of their last five matches, is whether Defoe’s return to Wearside makes sense from a footballing standpoint. Strip away the understandable emotion, and is signing a player on the brink of his 40s, who has barely kicked a ball since the end of last season, the best way to secure an exit from League One?

Lee Johnson didn’t really think so, hence his reluctance to give the deal his blessing when it was initially mooted a couple of weeks ago. The framework of an agreement was in place, with Sunderland’s owners keen to push through the deal, but Johnson expressed reservations. While the head coach is no longer around, his concerns should not be dismissed out of hand.

Will Defoe be fit and sharp enough to justify regular game time? If he isn’t, will be happy spending most of his time on the bench? Could the money that will be needed for Defoe’s wages be better spent on a younger striker? Will the balance within the dressing room be upset by the arrival of a former international who attracts a significant media glare?

Clearly, Johnson’s departure removes some of those issues. Whoever is appointed as Sunderland’s next head coach will know they are coming in to work with a squad containing Defoe. With that in mind, there should be no clash of personalities. Similarly, while Johnson put a lot of stock in the dressing-room dynamic he helped establish, that will almost certainly be upturned by the arrival of a new head coach now anyway. Whether Defoe is part of the new mix or not should not really matter.

The unknown that remains is whether he is still capable of scoring goals in League One. Even his most ardent supporter would have to admit it is impossible to know for certain, although any dissention would have to be tempered by an acknowledgement that Sunderland need a new striker with the transfer window now closed.

Last season, Defoe scored seven goals in 20 appearances for Rangers, although only five of those matches saw him start. There are two ways to interpret that – either he was not deemed fit enough to start very often, or his goalscoring instincts remain so sharp he can make a significant impact off the bench.

Sunderland are relying on it being the latter, and while Defoe might be 39 now, he has always prided himself on his physical fitness regime and his ability to stay fit with minimal training. Whether the Black Cats opt to reinstall the cryotherapy chamber Defoe used during his first spell at the club remains to be seen, but he is not really your average 39-year-old when it comes to the state of his body.

Provided Ross Stewart stays fit, he will almost certainly be restricted to cameo roles in the next 17 games. If he can score five or six goals, though, that might be enough to make the difference in the final standings.