GUS POYET claims Sunderland already feels like a “different club” following the signing of proven Premier League goalscorer Jermain Defoe.

Having signed a three-and-a-half year deal to complete his switch from MLS side Toronto FC yesterday, Defoe, who will wear the number 28 shirt, will be part of the Sunderland squad that travels to his former club Tottenham Hotspur this afternoon.

The 32-year-old, whose basic weekly wage is understood to be significantly less than the £70,000-a-week that has been widely reported, could well start on the substitutes’ bench today, with his last senior appearance having come almost four months ago, but his presence at Sunderland’s Academy of Light training ground has already given everyone a significant lift.

Poyet briefly played with Defoe as their careers overlapped at White Hart Lane – the Sunderland boss actually replaced his new signing from the substitutes’ bench as the striker made his Tottenham debut in a 4-3 win over Portsmouth in 2004 – and is overjoyed to have beaten off competition from more than half-a-dozen Premier League rivals to secure his signature.

Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew has described Defoe’s move to the Stadium of Light as a “game changer” in terms of Sunderland’s battle against the drop, and Poyet readily admits that the mood at the club has changed markedly this week.

“There’s no doubt we all needed a lift, and the club is a different club today,” said the Black Cats head coach. “I’ve got no doubts about that. It doesn’t happen that way very often, and it’s not very often we’re in a position where we can bring in a player of the quality of Jermain Defoe.

“But we’ve got him here, and we have to use him in the right way now. There are no excuses now. I am responsible, and whatever happens from this point onwards is down to me. We were missing something in front of goal, but now we’ve got Jermain.

“He’s got things that come naturally. The things he does on the pitch come naturally – the way he moves, the timing, the ability to find himself space and have a shot. We have to score more goals because now we’ve got a proven goalscorer at our club. There is no doubt he can be what we were missing.”

Defoe’s transfer, which saw Jozy Altidore end his unsuccessful spell in the North-East as he moved in the opposite direction, owed much to Poyet’s personal relationship with his former team-mate.

The pair spoke as soon as Defoe’s potential availability became apparent, with Poyet confirming the possibility of a deal before passing responsibility for completing the transfer to sporting director Lee Congerton.

“When the club was happy to start finding out about the possibility, I talked to Jermain,” said the Uruguayan.  Simple. I knew that Jermain would tell me the truth.

“He wouldn’t say, ‘Let me wait and see, and maybe I’ll give you an answer next week or in another week’s time’. It was straightforward.

“When I knew what Jermain told me, I went back to Lee and said, ‘Now the ball is on your side of the court’. As soon as I spoke to Jermain, I knew we had a chance, and that was the main thing.

“We had a proper chance, and it proved right, so credit to Jermain. But then all the rest of the deal was tough, because there were so many things involved.

“Credit to the club though, they did it - I was just waiting for the news. Slowly it was getting better because of the circumstances of the deal, and that put us in pole position.”

Poyet intends to stick with a 4-1-4-1 formation for today’s trip to White Hart Lane – in part because the absence of both Lee Cattermole and Liam Bridcutt requires the presence of Jack Rodwell at the base of midfield – but it should not be too long before he switches to two players up front.

It remains to be seen whether Defoe is partnered by Steven Fletcher or Connor Wickham, but having previously felt he was unable to play with two strikers, the Sunderland boss is looking forward to bolstering his attacking ranks in an attempt to increase his side’s goalscoring threat.

“I think we need to adapt to him, and we will try to change to do that,” he said. “We started training this week already, and we will see what happens against Spurs. But slowly, we are going to develop into something different.

“We will try to adapt. In the past, we found it easier to be organised with one striker up front and the other one working a bit harder out wide. Now, it’s a big possibility we will start playing with two up front.”

Having started the transfer window talking about the potential recruitment of a striker and defender, Poyet concedes that the Defoe deal is likely to represent Sunderland’s only piece of incoming transfer business this month.

That could change if they were to receive a significant offer for a player that was deemed to be disposable, but as things stand, the club’s January business appears to be at an end.

“I think that will probably be it,” said Poyet. “We cannot control the other way. At the moment there is nothing, but if something comes in later this month then we will need to analyse that like any other club. But at the moment, that’s it and I’m happy with that.”