CHERRIES frontman Joshua King is being tipped as a summer transfer target for Premier League high-fliers Tottenham.

According to the Mirror, the Norway international has been added to the transfer shortlist of Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.

King – Cherries' leading marksman last season with six goals – has plundered no fewer than 15 this time round, including 12 in his past 14 games.

Since the turn of the year, only Everton star Romelu Lukaku and Spurs frontman Harry Kane have scored more.

The 25-year-old King, snapped up by Howe for just £1m from Blackburn, is one of the most prolific strikers in Europe in the calendar year.

Meanwhile, the Shields Gazette reports Cherries are "leading the race" to sign permanently Sunderland hitman Jermain Defoe.

The Gazette states "a host of top-flight clubs" are chasing the experienced England international, who scored in 10 straight league games during a loan spell at Dean Court in 2000-01.

Defoe, the Black Cats' top scorer this campaign with 14 goals, has a clause in his contract which would allow him to leave Wearside in the likely event of relegation for David Moyes's men.