defoe joined tottenham in february 2004 for an initial fee of £6 million, rising to £7 million depending on "specific performance criteria", and with bobby zamora joining west ham. manager david pleat said, "i can't think of a british striker at his age who has achieved as much in such a short space of time. his goal record for a 21-year-old is quite exceptional. i hope he will have a fine career at tottenham." defoe marked his arrival at tottenham with a goal on his debut in the 4–3 home win over portsmouth in february 2004 and added a further six in the remainder of 2003–04, scoring 7 goals in 15 matches. he then scored 13 goals in 36 matches in the premier league, including a hat-trick in a 5–1 win over southampton in december 2004, and nine goals in eight matches in the fa cup and league cup, in 2004–05. he also received the club's player of the year award for the 2004 calendar year, as voted by season ticket holders and spurs members. despite speculation linking him with other clubs, defoe signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with tottenham in april 2005. the following season was not as profitable for defoe, and spurs manager martin jol used defoe in rotation with robbie keane, dimitar berbatov and mido providing the competition for a starting position. defoe started 23 times and came on as substitute 13 times, scoring nine goals.