Former England and Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe has been appointed as manager of National League side Woking in a surprise move.
A statement from the non-league club read: "Woking Football Club is pleased to confirm the appointment of Jermain Defoe as the club’s new Manager.
"Defoe joins the club following a distinguished playing career at the highest levels of the game and has built coaching experience through his work within the academy structure at Tottenham Hotspur and in a player-coach role at Rangers FC as part of Steven Gerrard’s coaching staff.
"Following a detailed recruitment process, the club identified Defoe as the candidate whose values, leadership style and footballing philosophy best aligned with its long-term vision."
Club Chairman Todd Johnson said: “Jermain’s achievements as a player speak for themselves, but what stood out to us during the process was how he sees the game, how he drives standards, and his approach to leadership and player development.
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“We have a clear plan for where we want to go as a club, and we believe Jermain is the right person to build on the strong foundations already in place and help take us forward in the next phase of that journey.”
Meanwhile, Defoe added: “Woking is a historic club with huge potential, and I’m thrilled to be part of this exciting project. I can’t wait to get started.”
Defoe, 43, started his professional career with West Ham United and went on to have spells with Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth, Toronto FC, Sunderland, Bournemouth and Rangers across a near 25-year career.
In 763 club appearances, he scored 305 goals. Defoe also made 57 appearances for the England national team across 13 seasons, scoring on 20 occasions.
Defoe has actually had a brief foray into management in the past, having been part of an interim coaching team at former side Rangers back in 2021. But this is the first time that he has claimed the managerial reins for himself.
Woking currently sit 11th in the National League table on 53 points. Defoe will take part in an introductory press conference on Wednesday, April 1, with the current interim team of Craig Ross, Jake Hyde and Dale Gorman guiding the side for Tuesday's clash against Altrincham.
That means Defoe's managerial debut for the side will come next Friday with a home showdown against Eastleigh. After that, they will then have four games of the season to go, with a late push for promotion looking highly unlikely at this stage.