Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has backed Jermain Defoe to remain in the Premier League with a "top team" next season should Sunderland be relegated.

The veteran striker has impressed in a struggling Black Cats side this term, finding the net 14 times in 30 Premier League appearances and earning a call-up to the England senior squad.

Defoe has admitted that he will likely leave Sunderland in the summer if they fail to beat the drop, and Mourinho believes that the 34-year-old can follow in the steps of Zlatan Ibrahimovic - one year his senior - by continuing to perform at the highest level.

"If you look at Zlatan, why can't the top teams look at Jermain? You can be a 40-year-old man and have the body of 30," he told reporters.

"Jermain is really fit. He is still very fast. He is intuitive. In his movements, in his shots, he's a child - he doesn't look 30-something."

Defoe's Sunderland side are currently at the foot of the Premier League table, 10 points from safety with two games in hand still to play.