Jermain Defoe was recalled to the England squad by Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate on Thursday following an absence of more than three years since his previous appearance, ahead of a friendly against Germany and a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Lithuania next week.

The Sunderland striker has been in fine form for the Premier League strugglers – scoring 14 of their 24 Premier League goals this season – but it hasn’t been enough to lift them off of the bottom of the table.

While Newcastle supporters may be taking glee at that fact while they lie at the top of the Championship standings and on course for an instant return to the top flight, they were surprisingly positive about the news that the 34-year-old had got the call from his country.

Obviously putting their rivalry with the Mackems to one side, here is just a selection of the reactions from Magpies fans on Twitter following the news that their arch-rivals’ key man had been named in the England squad…

Not every Newcastle supporter could bring themselves to be quite as positive though...