Much-maligned former-Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor has joined Crystal Palace until the end of the season
Former-Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor has joined Premier League Crystal Palace on a short-term deal until the end of the season.
The 31-year-old was released by Spurs in September, but had failed to agree terms with another club, despite being linked with the likes of Aston Villa and West Ham.
The Togolese star divides opinion amongst football fans. Call me crazy, but I actually think he could be a good short-term signing for the Eagles.
A short-term impact
Adebayor is a striker who has been round the English Premier League block once or twice. Every club he has play for he seems to give blood, sweat and tears in the first few months, but then all of a sudden becomes less effective than chocolate teapot.
Every time he has moved to a new club he has deceived us by making a massive impact and led us to believe that he was going to turnover a new leaf and finally fulfil his potential.
After a few months, Adebayor starts to be less visible than the Invisible Man on the pitch, sulks and throws his toys out of the pram. It is a shame because on his day he has all the attributes to be a top striker.
His attitude has ruined his reputation and his chance of being a top Premier League striker. The striker has been labelled a ‘mercenary’ by some fans of his former-clubs, but his talent with a football at his feet is unquestionable, even if his mental attitude is at times.
Palace need a striker
Crystal Palace are currently going through a very sticky patch in the Premier League. However, Alan Pardew has built a very capable team, who are in with a decent chance of claiming a top-six finish this season, which they are odds of 14/1 to achieve.
In the likes of Wilfried Zaha, Yannick Bolasie, Yohan Cabaye and Jason Puncheon they have players who will all create chances for the team’s striker. Connor Wickham, Dwight Gayle, Marouane Chamakh and Fraizer Campbell have all struggled to score goals for Palace this season.
None of the quartet are prolific in front of goal and if Palace had a real poacher up front with those players creating chances they would be a major threat to the top-six this season. Adebayor may just be the man to score the Eagles the goals until the end of the season, even if he is not a long-term solution.
The 31-year-old may be on big wages, but it seems from reports that Spurs may well still be paying a slice of the striker’s wages, which could turn out to be a very good deal for the Eagles.
A short-term risk worth taking
Depending on whether he hits the ground running, Adebayor could turn out to be a good short-term signing for the Eagles. Even if the bad and the ugly of his character come out instead of the good, he will leave in the summer and Palace have only been paying his wages for a short period.
His signing is worth the risk, as Palace look for a solution for their goal scoring problems. Charlie Austin recently joined Southampton for a bargain price, he would have been ideal for the Eagles.
Eagles missed a beat with Austin and Adebayor’s outlook cannot be compared to Austin, who has worked his way up from non-league, while Adebayor has been lauded throughout his career never quite fulfilling his potential or living up his hype.
Fans of Adebayor’s former-clubs will be screaming at the screen as they read this, criticising the striker, but most will remember happier times, when the striker was scoring goals for their teams in the early days of his career at each club.
If Adebayor scores the goals for Palace between now and the end of the season, I am sure that Eagles fans will not be complaining about his attitude. If he underperforms then they will only have to put up with the striker until the end of the season.
Will Emmanuel Adebayor be a good signing for Crystal Palace?
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