Jermain Defoe's sudden retirement from professional football came a little out of the blue last week.

However, considering the former England international's age it was not a surprise for it to have been something that he had been contemplating for a long while.

The 39-year-old only arrived at the Stadium of Light in January, after leaving Rangers, but it seems like his lack of fitness was enough to convince the deadly striker to hang up his boots.

The Black Cats have been lacking a quality backup to Ross Stewart all season, exacerbated by Nathan Broadhead's injury problems and therefore in that regard, losing Defoe at this stage certainly weakens the depth of Alex Neil's squad.

The decision could have been made due to a desire to not take up a position that could be filled by an up and coming younger player, when Defoe did not feel like he could do himself justice on the pitch.

FLW's Sunderland fan pundit Jack Austwicke was disappointed by the news, but maintains an appreciation for Defoe's services to the club.

Speaking to Football League World, Austwicke said: "I was quite devastated to see that Jermain Defoe had announced his retirement.

"Due to the fact we'd only signed him about two months prior and he didn't really get that chance to kick on.

"Obviously, he never scored a goal for us, in his second spell, so to see him retire at this point, the timing of it has confused everyone, we've got seven games left in the season, a lot of the fans don't understand why he couldn't have just seen out the season with the club then retire.

"Obviously, that decision is up to him and us Sunderland fans still love and respect what he's done for us."