GUS POYET has hailed Jermain Defoe’s arrival at Sunderland as a ‘double whammy’ that has enabled the club to steal a march on the majority of their relegation rivals.

Since signing Defoe on a three-and-a-half year deal from Toronto FC, Sunderland have lost just one of four matches, with their last two performances against Burnley and Fulham representing two of their most dominant displays of the season.

Off the pitch, the capture of the 32-year-old has transformed the mood at the Wearsiders’ Academy of Light training ground, while on it, Defoe’s arrival has provided a cutting edge that was nowhere to be seen in the first half of the season.

Just as significantly, Defoe’s decision to choose Sunderland also left almost half the clubs in the Premier League scrambling around for a new striker in the closing days of the transfer window, and the vast majority were forced to admit defeat before Monday’s deadline.

QPR missed out on Emmanuel Adebayor, Aston Villa were unable to prise Rickie Lambert from Liverpool and tomorrow’s opponents, Swansea City, failed to secure a replacement for Wilfried Bony. Little wonder, then, that Poyet was so content with his own side’s January dealing.

“Is Jermain the best January signing? All I will say is that he is someone who is going to make a big impact for us,” said the Sunderland head coach, who is set to be without Connor Wickham for a fortnight after the striker damaged his calf. “He can give us something special.

“A lot of teams wanted Jermain, but we got him, so that has a double impact. Not only did a lot of teams not get him, but we did.

“It had an impact in two different ways, and it was a very important piece of business. That kind of situation won’t happen too often, so we needed to make the most of it and I am really pleased that we did.”

Having scored his first Sunderland goal in last weekend’s 2-0 win over Burnley, Defoe produced another impressive display as he led the line effectively in Tuesday night’s FA Cup replay win at Fulham.

His arrival has enabled Poyet to alter his formation, and the 4-1-2-3 system that was trialled at Craven Cottage was notable for the number of attacking players that were breaking into the Fulham box whenever Sunderland attacked.

The Black Cats are likely to adopt a similar approach at the Liberty Stadium tomorrow, and even if Defoe does not find the back of the net himself, his presence in the final third should help create gaps for others to exploit.

“Jermain moves in a certain way, and we didn’t have a player like that before,” said Poyet. “He moves and creates things by his natural movement. The rest of the players need to be aware of that and take advantage.

“Jermain has changed things because he’s a good lad and he wants to play all the time. You never need to ask him how he is feeling because he is all right all of the time. He’s always positive because he wants to play, and the other players buy into that. They know they also need to be at that level.

“He has improved the levels of the other players, but they have helped him as well because of their movements and the way they have been creating things. There is real competition now, and that is good for me.”

Wickham’s absence reduces some of that attacking competition, and having damaged his calf in the warm-up before Tuesday night’s win, scans have revealed a tear that is likely to sideline the striker for a fortnight.

Lee Cattermole has also been ruled out of tomorrow’s game in Wales with a combination of knee and groin problems, while Adam Johnson, Emmanuele Giaccherini and Jack Rodwell face late fitness checks to assess their availability.

“Connor has a calf problem,” said Poyet. “We sent him for a scan (on Wednesday) and probably had more scans than any club in England! It’s a typical muscle injury, You can’t put a number of weeks on it – people put this grade one, grade two, grade three thing on it, we are all different – but I would say a couple of weeks should be the right number.

“If it takes a number of weeks more or less, fair enough, but he’s the one who’s definitely out, him and Lee Cattermole. The rest all have a chance.”

With Wickham sidelined, Danny Graham could well appear to face his former club at some stage, and Poyet has been delighted with the North-Easterner’s response to being frozen out at the start of the campaign.

“His loan to Wolves was spectacular for us,” he said. “He went there, and came back totally different. He was very sharp, match fit, which can be difficult to achieve when you’re only playing for the under-21s, and properly ready to play.

“He put himself into contention, and I thought, ‘He looks good – if I get chance, I would like to see him for 15 or 20 minutes in a game’. He has done perfect for us. He has a big chance now. If, at any stage, anyone goes a little bit to sleep, he’s going to be in.”