GUS POYET has backed Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe for a surprise England recall after he scored for the second league game in a row yesterday.

Having opened his Black Cats account in the previous weekend’s 2-0 win over Burnley, Defoe found the net again as his side stretched their unbeaten run to four matches with a 1-1 draw at Swansea City.

This weekend’s headlines have been dominated by Harry Kane, and the Tottenham striker, who scored both of his side’s goals in their 2-1 win over Arsenal, is expected to be named in Roy Hodgson’s squad for next month’s Euro 2016 qualifier with Lithuania and friendly with Italy.

Kane heads a batch of emerging young English forwards that also includes Burnley’s Danny Ings and West Brom’s Saido Berahino, but Poyet feels it would be wrong to ignore the enduring qualities displayed by Defoe, who won the last of his 55 international caps in a friendly with Chile in November 2013.

Poyet said:  “You pick the strikers in form and scoring goals. Harry Kane is an obvious choice. But if Jermain keeps scoring goals, and with (Wayne) Rooney playing in midfield, maybe he has a chance.

“Without any doubt, we're a different team with him. When you've got a player who you know sooner or later is going to score it makes the rest of the team believe that you've got a chance to win football games. It's a pleasure to have him.”

Defoe’s opening goal was cancelled out by a second-half header from former Sunderland midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng, and on the balance of play, it is hard to deny that Swansea deserved to take something from the game.

Poyet accepts his side were indebted to two important saves from Costel Pantilimon, and is hoping to use Saturday’s point as a platform to take all three when struggling QPR visit the Stadium of Light on Tuesday.

He said: “My character says I'm not happy with a draw but I need to be realistic. Pantilimon made a couple of very good saves, so you cannot say we deserved to win. But I was very pleased with the first half.

“We need to make sure this point is very good by beating QPR on Tuesday.”