By Matt Law
Tottenham are threatening to pull the plug on their bid to sign Emmanuel Adebayor and make a renewed move for Brazilian striker Leandro Damiao.
Adebayor has demanded that Spurs pay him the £4million transfer fee they have agreed with Manchester City, which forced chairman Daniel Levy and manager Andre Villas-Boas to reconsider their options.
City have also warned Adebayor, 28, they will not be held to ransom and are willing to let the Togo international rot in the reserves for two years if he continues to hold out for crazy money.
Having taken Adebayor on loan last season, Spurs agreed a £4m deal to sign him permanently.
City had agreed to subsidise part of Adebayor’s £175,000-a-week wages, meaning he would not lose any money by making the switch to White Hart Lane on a four-year contract.
But Adebayor stunned both Spurs and City by rejecting the deal unless he also receives the £4m fee and effectively moves on a free transfer.
He also only wants a two-year contract at White Hart Lane, so he can try to make even more money by moving on again in 2014.
Levy reacted by immediately resuming negotiations with Brazilian club Internacional over Damiao and is also looking at Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge.
Fulham’s Moussa Dembele and Joe Allen are midfield targets, although Spurs face a battle with Liverpool for the Swansea star.
Tottenham have been tracking Damiao for 18 months and club scouts have been watching him in action for Brazil’s Olympic team. Their last bid of around £12m was turned down by Internacional, but Levy is now considering a £15m offer.
City have warned Adebayor he faces the threat of spending the final two years of his contract in the reserves if he fails to agree a move, with manager Roberto Mancini insisting he will not be given another chance with the Premier League champions.
Mancini is furious Adebayor’s antics have jeopardised his hopes of signing Robin van Persie from Arsenal and City officials are dismayed by the player’s attitude.
It is understood Adebayor is travelling up to Manchester from London every morning to train with fellow City misfit Roque Santa Cruz before returning to the capital.
A City source told Sunday Mirror Sport: “Ade’s greed is unbelievable.
“He is just out to make money and does not care that he is endangering his career at the same time.
“Tottenham are also getting very annoyed by all of this.
“There is a real threat the move may not go through if Ade does not back down. If Ade has to stay at City, then Roberto Mancini has already made it pretty clear that he will just be left to rot in the reserves.”
City have tried to sound out other potential buyers or interested parties for Adebayor, including QPR and Liverpool, but there has not been any serious interest.
Phil Smith, the agent who brokered Adebayor’s £25million move from Arsenal to City in 2009, predicted that Spurs will face a tough task to convince the player to drop his demands.
“Adebayor is quite ruthless when it comes to getting what he wants,” said Smith.
“He got a very good deal at City and quite clearly he wants his pound of flesh, not only on the way in but also on the way out.
“I think it’s a deal that will die on its backside. Who is going to come and give moneybags Adebayor the money he wants, other than moneybags QPR? I don’t think they’d be interested.”
