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Tottenham transfer focus - Spurs lacking strikers with Adebayor deal quiet
In just under three weeks, Tottenham Hotspur will walk out at St James' Park for the opening match of the Premier League season. Whilst Newcastle are likely to line up with Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse up front, Spurs may have only Jermaine Defoe as an experienced striker, with the deal to sign Emmanuel Adebayor appearing to have gone quiet.
Spurs fans may be getting more and more concerned about the lack of activity in the transfer market for an area that is the most in need of recruitment - the forward line. As it currently stands, Tottenham have Defoe, who, as could be seen last season, is arguably not suited to a lone striker role. Harry Kane is a fine youngster with potential, but to place too much responsibility on him before he is ready could ruin his confidence and set his progress back. The other striker, Giovani dos Santos, appears far from committed to the Tottenham cause.
A week or two ago, it seemed that everyone was waiting for the announcement of Adebayor's signing. Since then, nothing, with rumours of disagreement on salary and the package involving the concerned parties suggesting the deal is close to collapse. With Villas-Boas seemingly uninterested in reigniting the Loic Remy move, and few links with any substance between Spurs and other strikers, Adebayor could be holding all the cards.
The Togolese would appear to be willing to take a drop in salary but perhaps only to an extent. Manchester City are desperate to get him off their books, partly because Adebayor is an unwanted player that costs City £175,000 a week, but also because they apparently want to earmark those funds to sign Robin van Persie.
Spurs are in desperate need of a striker and have not hidden their wish to sign the striker who performed so well for them last season. Sitting in the middle is Adebayor, and to say that he is in a strong position may be an understatement. He is able to play City and Spurs off against each other, with one eager to sign him and the other eager to get rid of him. Adebayor probably realises that at 28 years of age, his next move may well be his last major one, and therefore could be determined to extract as much as he can.
However, at some point Adebayor has to bend. If he overplays his hand, both clubs will get fed up with him and Spurs in particular may look elsewhere. Perhaps they should. Adebayor knows Daniel Levy from last season, knows the situation, and what Levy will go to. Whilst it may be fair to look after your own interests, there also has to be compromise. If Adebayor, having played at Tottenham and stated how much he enjoyed it, is unwilling to do this, then arguably Spurs should consign Adebayor to the scrap heap and focus on other targets.
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