Redknapp hoping to hold onto Adebayor

Harry Redknapp admits Tottenham will have to offer Emmanuel Adebayor a good deal to stay at the club on a permanent basis.

Adebayor is on loan at Spurs for the entire season and has so far scored nine times in 19 Premier League matches as the north Londoners have closed in on the summit of the table.

He is due to return to parent club parent Manchester City once his loan spell is over and although Redknapp declared an interest in bringing him back to White Hart Lane on a fixed contract, he acknowledged the Togolese striker would need to be offered a good financial offer to be enticed back.

“We like him. He has done well for us, worked hard, not been a minute’s problem,” Redknapp told The Times.

“I’d be talking rubbish if I said people wanted to stay at Tottenham just because we’re playing good football.”

“If you want to keep the best players, we have to find a way of doing a deal that is near to what they can earn elsewhere, otherwise it will be a problem.”

Redknapp also offered his thoughts on several other players at City, the team Tottenham are trying to catch at the top of the league.

Again warming to the theme of players on big wages, he suggested that Samir Nasri would have found it exceptionally difficult to turn down the sort of riches on offer at City in comparison to what he was on at Arsenal.

“He (Nasri) probably thought he was going to be playing regularly,” Redknapp said.

“All of a sudden he has found himself not in the team. But it is difficult when you are at a club and enjoy being where you are, but somebody comes in and makes you a fantastic offer.”

“You are kidding yourself if you think that they are not going to have their heads turned.”

“I’m sure Samir Nasri enjoyed playing at Arsenal and the crowd loved him, but Man City came along and wanted to give him 200,000 pounds a week. What can you do?”

“There are very few players about now who sign for a club at 15 and stay there until they finish playing.”

“If they’re a top player and someone wants to give them a fantastic contract, it’s very hard to hang on to them.”