Jermain Defoe is prepared to gamble his England future to stay at Spurs.

Defoe, 29, could solve the problem for himself by pushing for a transfer out of White Hart Lane in January.

But his strong allegiance to the club and loyalty to manager Harry Redknapp means he intends to dig in and fight for his place.

Sharper than ever: Jermain Defoe in action against Rubin Kazan

A number of Premier League clubs, led by Queens Park Rangers, are willing to offer him the regular spot he knows he needs to be considered by England manager Fabio Capello.

But although he started for Tottenham in their 1-0 Europa League loss to Rubin Kazan on Thursday, he expects to return to the bench for the Premier League game at Fulham today.

Defoe will do so knowing a prolonged spell as a substitute will virtually rule out any chance he has of making it into Capello's squad for Euro 2012.

Defoe is rated by Tottenham's coaching staff as having never been more sharp, fit or committed and is only being denied his place because of the exceptional goalscoring form of Rafael van der Vaart.

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