Italian titans eye Ade swoop
by Tom Adams, 21 April 2008
Italian giants Juventus and Milan are both interested in signing Emmanuel Adebayor, according to the Arsenal star’s agent.
The Togo international has enjoyed a fantastic season for The Gunners and his 27 goals in 45 games in all competitions have seen him shortlisted for the PFA Player of the Year award.
His impressive performances have clearly achieved recognition outside of England too as his agent claims that Milan, who Adebayor tormented over two legs in the Champions League, and Juventus are both weighing up an approach in the summer.
Milan had been strongly linked with Didier Drogba but Adebayor has outshone the Chelsea striker who has scored just eight league goals in a season interrupted by injury concerns and the African Cup of Nations.
And, at 24 and six years younger than his London rival, Adebayor’s representative feels his client is a more attractive asset than Drogba.
“Milan have looked at him and so have Juventus,” Vincenzo Morabito told the Italian media.
“He is a young player to sign and with respect to other attackers like Drogba, he has age on his side from the perspective of a longer career.
“He is a striker who has had a great season and is the right investment for the future.”
Arsene Wenger recently sought to reassure his star names that leaving the club will be counter-productive, despite Arsenal’s failure in both league and Champions League in recent weeks, but it looks set to be a long summer of speculation in North London.
Alexander Hleb has been strongly linked with the likes of Barcelona and Inter and Mathieu Flamini has still not signed a new contract with his current deal expiring in June.