According to reports in The Sun, West Ham are hoping to bring Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe back to the club this summer, 13 years after he left for Tottenham Hotspur.

The 34-year-old has scored 14 Premier League goals for the Mackems this season, but they are looking odds-on to be relegated to the Championship as they currently lie bottom of the table and seven points from safety.

If they do go down the story suggests that Defoe could be available on a free transfer at the end of the campaign, and having just been recalled to the England squad, the signing of the prolific forward could be a bargain for whichever side gets him.

It seems as though Slaven Bilic wants that team to be the Irons, and if a deal materialises then he would be return to play for the club he made his debut for in 2000.

Here are three reasons signing Defoe on a free would be the best business of the summer…

He guarantees goals

Britain Football Soccer - Sunderland v Leicester City - Premier League - The Stadium of Light - 3/12/16 Sunderland's Jermain Defoe celebrates scoring their second goal   Action Images via Reuters / Lee Smith Livepic EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account represen

Whereas West Ham took something of a risk by bringing in Simone Zaza on loan from Juventus last summer – with the Italy international having never played in England before – they wouldn’t be doing the same if they signed Defoe.

The 34-year-old is a guaranteed goalscorer at this level – as shown by his brilliant record for a side that is struggling at the bottom of the table – and if he is given the ammunition at the London Stadium, he will more often than not put the ball in the back of the net.

He would give his new teammates a boost

The West Ham players wouldn’t have been confident that Zaza could score them goals when they went out on the pitch earlier in the season, and they certainly wouldn’t be sure Andy Carroll can have a prolonged run in the side without picking up an injury.

But their confidence could be changed with the arrival of Defoe, because you know that if you have a proven goalscorer in your side then you always have a chance of winning games – you only have to look at the improved Southampton performances since Manolo Gabbiadini arrived in January to see this.

His England aspirations

Having been called up to the latest England squad by Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate, Defoe will really start to believe that he can be a part of the squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

That will mean that he is desperate to score goals and impress next season in the lead up to the competition, and if the Irons signed the striker this summer, they would have a determined and motivated player on their hands.

Do you agree, West Ham fans? Let us know below.