Tottenham close in on £5m deal for Adebayor from Manchester City

Jul 8, 2012 8:45:00 AM

Spurs have halved the champions' initial asking price for the Togolese striker, who scored 17 league goals for the White Hart Lane outfit on loan last season

EXCLUSIVE
By Greg Stobart

Tottenham are closing in on a £5 million (€6.3m) deal to sign Emmanuel Adebayor on a permanent transfer from Manchester City, Goal.com can reveal.

The Londoners have reduced City's initial asking price by half and will pay the Togolese striker a £5m (€6.3) signing-on fee as they look to supplement his current £170,000- (€214,000)-a-week wage package.

Sources at City expect the deal to be completed within days as they look to free up their wage budget and spaces in their squad to make a move for Arsenal captain Robin van Persie.

The Premier League champions had hoped for a bidding war for Adebayor following interest earlier in the summer from Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan, but Tottenham have emerged as the only option.

Adebayor, 28, made it clear he was eager to return to White Hart Lane and new Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas also expressed his desire to sign the former Arsenal man.

"It didn't look very likely at the end of the season but we've found a solution that satisfies City, Spurs and the player," a source told Goal.com. "Spurs are the only team to have held talks over the transfer and City are desperate to get rid of him."

Adebayor played a key role for Spurs on loan last season under Harry Redknapp, scoring 17 Premier League goals and providing 11 assists in 33 appearances, building a particularly strong understanding with winger Gareth Bale.

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His arrival will be a huge boost for Villas-Boas as he prepares for the start of pre-season on Monday, with Jermain Defoe the only senior striker at the club.

Spurs will look to sign at least one more young striker with potential to improve, but Adebayor is expected to lead the line next term in Villas-Boas' preferred 4-3-3 system.

Adebayor signed a five-year contract when he joined City from Arsenal for £25m (€32m) in 2009 but has endured a miserable time at the Etihad Stadium since the appointment of Roberto Mancini as coach in December that year.

He has made just 45 appearances for the club in all competitions and spent the second half of the 2010-11 season on loan at Real Madrid before moving to Spurs on a season-long loan last term.

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Champions League final - LIVE!

German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will battle it out at Wembley for European glory. Get involved by sending us your thoughts via Twitter or Facebook! Hosted by Mark Doyle.

11:08 PM BST

Right, that's just about it from me, folks. Thank you so much for all your contributions. We hyped this one up. We said it was going to showcase everything that is great about German football. And you know what? It delivered. It was an absolutely absorbing final between the continent's top two sides, a fitting conclusion to what has been a fantastic tournament. Impossible not to feel so, so sorry for Dortmund but they need only to look at what Bayern have done tonight, lifting the trophy just 12 months after throwing it away, to see that it's possible to bounce back from this kind of devastation.

But Bayern deserve this. They've paid their dues and nobody can dispute that they are the best team in Europe. Bayern, we salute you. Over to everyone else now to try to come up with a way to beat this most wonderfully balanced of sides! But, until next season, good night - and good luck.

11:00 PM BST

Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp has finally faced the press and, judging by his comments, is a tad upset with perhaps something other than the final scoreline.

"First and foremost, congratulations to Bayern Munich because they won so it's not important to speak about what happened in the game," he told ITV1. "After the game you have to respect the result and that's what we do now.

"I didn't see (Robben's) goal. It was a free-kick and we were not in the right formation at that moment. It was late in the game and it has been a really hard season for us. But Bayern Munich had to fight too. We deserved to be in the final and we showed this tonight."

10:56 PM BST

Sir Alex Ferguson also has a new job... Well, kind of. The former Manchester United boss was entrusted with the honour of presenting the man of the match award after the game and relished the task: "It's my first job since I retired and it's a pleasure!"

Robben humbly received his accolade before commenting: "I think it’s such a shame a world-class trainer is leaving the game." Quite.

10:51 PM BST

Heynckes, class act that he is, was also quick to empathise with a devastated Dortmund.

"I told their players: I know your disappointment after losing a final. I lost a final to Liverpool, too.

"During the first half we had trouble to get into the game. At half-time a adjusted our play. I think both teams felt pressure. If you see that you have a 25-point-lead in the league, it is normal you are the favourite. But after 30 minutes we freed ourselves.

"Over the past year, we improved and improved. We improved and modified so many details. I was stricter and I have to say that the players followed me and there is harmony in the dressing room."

10:48 PM BST

And finally we get to hear from Bayern Munich boss Jupp Heynckes, who will be replaced by Pep Guardiola this summer.

The big news is, though, that he seems to have a job lined up for himself, which restores one's faith in our fickle game, given the man is now a two-time Champions League winner!

"The decision on what I will do after the DFB Pokal match (against Stuttgart next saturday) was already taken last June? Retire? No, you will learn that after the DFB Pokal final."

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