Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has identified Jermain Defoe as Sunderland's main avenue to achieving survival this season.
?The Villa boss is no stranger to Defoe after having spent a number of years at his old club Tottenham as an assistant first-team coach under Harry Redknapp and Andre Villas-Boas.
?Speaking ahead of his team's Premier League encounter with Sunderland, Sherwood has identified Defoe as the key catalyst for the Black Cats.
?He said: "If Sunderland are going to survive it's going to be Jermain who keeps them in the Premier League, that's why they forked out that sort of money for him.
?"He didn't have to go, he went for a lifestyle change to Canada but he still has that appetite to come back and play for Sunderland - in a relegation battle.
?"He can score goals on his own but he prefers people to slide the ball across the six-yard box for him to be in the right place at the right time, that's what he's done all of his career."?
