Jermain Defoe is fast establishing his reputation as English football’s nicest guy.The 34-year-old has been wonderfully kind to young Bradley Lowery, the young Sunderland fan whose brave fight against cancer continues, over recent months.Bradley has stolen the nation’s hearts and Defoe has gone above and beyond to be with the five-year-old whenever he can.The youngster was Defoe’s mascot for Sunday’s Premier League clash between the Black Cats and Manchester United at the Stadium of Light.

And although Bradley watched on as Sunderland were beaten 3-0 by Jose Mourinho’s side, he still got to watch his hero play the full 90 minutes.

How United sealed their 3-0 win

United broke the deadlock midway through the first half thanks to an excellent Zlatan Ibrahimovic goal before Sunderland were reduced to 10 men shortly before half-time when Sebastian Larsson was given his marching orders for a reckless tackle.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan then doubled the Red Devils’ advantage after the interval, while Marcus Rashford added a late third.

Rashford probably reminds Defoe of himself

Defoe probably sees a lot of himself in Rashford, who doesn’t turn 20 until October.

The teenager is quick and skilful but, even more importantly, he has that insatiable appetite to score goals that all great strikers possess.

Defoe's brilliant gesture to Rashford revealed

Defoe is almost certainly a player that Rashford looks up to, so the young United forward will have surely appreciated the Sunderland star’s brilliant gesture after Sunday’s match.

According to journalist Henry Winter, Defoe waited patiently by the tunnel following the final whistle, despite the fact his side had just taken a battering.

He was waiting for Rashford, who was handed Defoe’s shirt.

A class gesture from the England international, who could potentially be at the 2018 World Cup final in Russia alongside Rashford.

Sunderland look doomed - but will Defoe leave?

Unfortunately for Defoe, it now looks extremely likely that Sunderland will be relegated to the Championship over the coming weeks.

David Moyes’ men, following their 21st defeat of the campaign, now find themselves 10 points from safety at the bottom of the Premier League table with only seven matches remaining.

But after scoring 14 league goals this season, surely Defoe’s adventure as a Premier League player will continue - somewhere - into the 2017-18 campaign.