Report: Jermain Defoe passes medical, will complete Sunderland move imminently

Jermain Defoe is one step closer to returning to the Premier League.

Sky Sports News is reporting that the diminutive English striker has passed his medical with Sunderland, suggesting that official confirmation on the deal for Defoe to leave Toronto FC is on the horizon.

While no firm details of the transfer fee have emerged, John Percy of The Telegraph reports that Defoe will sign a three-and-a-half-year contract with the Black Cats - who are desperate for an infusion of talent in attack - and will earn around £80,000 per week.

Defoe arrived in Toronto with much fanfare in January of last year, signing a four-year contract with the club. The 32-year-old was the star of a massive preseason advertising campaign that made him the team's most-hyped player before even stepping foot on the pitch in MLS. 

A pair of goals in his first match - scored in only 25 minutes against Seattle - got the relationship off to a dream start. And then things started to unravel.

Despite scoring 11 goals in 19 appearances in his first - and likely only - season in North America, the love affair went sour after a groin injury effectively ended his season and contributed to TFC missing the playoffs once again.

Questions over his commitment to the club became rampant when reports suggested he left Canada to receive treatment for the ailment back in England, and his future was clouded by continuous rumors of a return to the Premier League well before the MLS season came to a close.

Whether his comments about wanting to remain in Toronto were genuine is up for debate, but there's no arguing Defoe will provide a boost to a Sunderland club that has scored the second-fewest goals in the EPL (18) and, as a result, sits just one point above the relegation zone.