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Mid-Day Ticker: Spurs sign Adebayor, De Rossi stays put at Roma and more

Adebyaor (Getty Images)

Emmanuel Adebayor is returning to White Hart Lane to inject some much-needed life into Tottenham's attack.

Adebayor, who scored 17 goals last season while on loan with Tottenham from Manchester City, has completed a permanent transfer to the club after a drawn-out transfer saga has finally concluded with his departure from Etihad Stadium for a reported £5 million fee.

"It may have taken longer than expected, but I am delighted to be back at Tottenham Hotspur," Adebayor said in a statement on the club's website. "I really enjoyed my time here last season, and I am hoping we can achieve great things together again."

Spurs have been in desperate need of striker support for the oft-injured Jermain Defoe, and Adebayor should be able to supply that and more. He was the club's leading scorer a season ago and was tied for fourth among Premier League goal scorers with Clint Dempsey and Yakubu, trailing only Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero. 

Here are a few more stories from around the soccer world:

DE ROSSI STAYS AT ROMA

Daniele De Rossi will not be joining Manchester City. 

De Rossi confirmed that he will be remaining at AS Roma, where he will team with Michael Bradley in the club's midfield, despite rampant speculation that he was headed to the Premier League champions.

"I'm staying," De Rossi told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday. "I never asked to leave. One club, the one you all know, made an inquiry, One or two others, but that was just talk. What I can promise everyone is that the day I want to leave Roma, whether it is to win the Champions League or make more money, I will say so in public."

QPR BID FOR SPURS' DAWSON

Queens Park Rangers' defense was torched in the season-opening loss to Swansea City, and as a result, coach Mark Hughes is in search of reinforcements before the transfer window closes.

According to Sky Sports, QPR have made a £5.5 million bid for Tottenham centerback Michael Dawson, who has fallen out of favor at White Hart Lane behind the likes of William Gallas, Younes Kaboul and new signing Jan Vertonghen. Dawson did not make the team sheet for the season-opening loss to Newcastle and is a good bet to head elsewhere prior to the closing of the transfer window.

MALTA PLAYER BANNED 10 YEARS

Malta international Kevin Sammut has been banned for 10 years for being found guilty of fixing a Euro 2008 qualifying match. 

The match in question was a 2007 contest between Malta and Norway, which was won by Norway 4-0. Two of Sammut's teammates were acquitted of wrongdoing, but the 31-year-old Sammut, who played for a Maltese club that qualified for the UEFA Champions League preliminary rounds, is prohibited from any professional activity until 2022. It was not disclosed exactly what Sammut did to help arrange the fix.

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What do you think the signing of Adebayor means for Tottenham's chances this season? Did you think it ever made sense for De Rossi to sign with Manchester City? Surprised that Dawson has fallen so low on the depth chart at Tottenham? Do you think that bid would be a steal for QPR if accepted? What do you think of the fact that a Euro qualifying match was marred with fixing?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. or Arsene Wenger saying the January transfer window should be removed for the same reason.

    There’s certainly merit in what Jol’s saying, it’s just meritless considering the source (Jol).

    The entire reason Jol is complaining could have been avoided. That’s entirely the point.

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  2. I actually agree with Jol. The window closing 2 weeks into the season puts players in difficult positions where they have 1 foot out the door while still being expected to play for their current club. What if they get hurt right before the transfer? It makes no sense that I can see.

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  3. For 5 million even Arsenal should have thought about bidding lol or even a Juventus 5mkllion is a hella steal for a player like him. Look I like Dempsey but he is to old to for the price Fulham wants even though he has played well. If Dempsey was 22-23 he would have already been sold but his age plus the cost make him not worth the effort. Teams will just wait out his contract and offer what they want next year. He still may go to a champions league team but I don’t see it this year.

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  4. Opinion with facts? Kind of a contradiction, right?

    There’s zero reason to repeatedly justify my opinion, as I have in the previous days on this very topic. It’s on this very board. If you seek it, knock yourself out.

    Though, the very reason I didn’t elaborate is for the very reason you’ve provided: “he signed the contract”.

    Yes, we know. YOU would honor your contract and Dempsey is in the wrong. Same ol’ story.

    No one in their own profession has ever sought a better job with more prestige. That’s why everyone still sacks groceries, mows lawns in the summer and works part-time.

    Wait…no, that’s not right.

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  5. Man City sold Adebayor for 1/5 of their cost. They paid £25 Million for him in 2009.

    That would be a bargain for someone who was discarded and still managed to score 17 goals last season.

    So why didn’t Liverpool buy Adebayor for £5M ???

    I doubt any team now will pay more than £5-7M ($8-10M USD) for Dempsey now.

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  6. Right? And add the fact that Fulham spent the last two weeks smearing the reputation of a player they want to sell at above market value…

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  7. He’s asking you to back up your opinion with, ya know, facts. Dempsey signed the damn contract, he needs to play. Since when do Fulham have to sell him? Clubs deny transfer requests all the time. It no different from American sports where players asked to be traded and the club says no.

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  8. Not sure who the hold out was, but some people believe crazy things. He’s been clearly the best CM for sometime now and I expect by 2014 he will be our best player at any position.

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  9. Take an hour of your time and sift through the articles about this story.

    This isn’t Soccer By Old School, so I won’t be your journalist today. I’m simply posting my thoughts about the situation, not educating you on it.

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  10. It’s unfortunate we won’t know what type of bid Liverpool made in the off-season.

    Yes..there was a bid, that much Jol (perhaps mistakenly) has admitted, in the midst of his half-truths and outright lies.

    I’d be willing to bet the offer was larger than £5 but short of what Fulham, perhaps, thought they could get.

    Fulham falling flat on their face and losing money with each week that passes.

    At this point, if Clint stays the entire year and walks on a Bosman, I’d simply laugh at The Cottagers…as their “Cottagers” name becomes more applicable each month that passes.

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  11. Jol is a an A-1 pure unadulterated duck-head, Old School, that’s for sure. And his untruths and bullying of America’s top player who also happens to be a major fan favorite and a key member of the USMNT is destroying the image Fulham in the US. The damage already is so severe it might take years to recover, unless Jol and Fulham ownership 1) immediately stop bullying Dempsey, 2) offer him a public and sincere apology for, 3) accept that fact that he has the right not to sign a contract extension with Fulham and stop trying to pressure him to do so and 4) allow Clint to leave the team with the dignity he deserves after years of loyal service to the club.

    Unforgivable what Fulham has done to Clint, and so mean-spirited and undeserved.

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  12. While I agree in principle, it’s not totally apples to apples. It should be noted that Tottenham (unless they rework Adebayor’s deal) are still paying roughly 14 million pounds for this year for Adebayor (170K/week in wages is roughly 9 mil + 5 mil in transfer)

    Whereas Dempsey, I’ve heard makes 3 mil ?? So the cost would be (roughly) comparable.

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  13. Bradley needs to fight for his place at a top club. Playing time is important, but so is showing he can hack it with some very good players. If he can’t get playing time, he will definitely get it future seasons at lesser clubs. And then we will know what kind of player he is.

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  14. Martin Jol has reportedly said, “the transfer window should close before the start of the season to stop the kind of “nonsense” he has had to endure over Clint Dempsey.”

    Memo to the admitted liar Jol: Clint Dempsey made it clear LAST YEAR of his intentions. No, this off-season and not weeks before the campaign. LAST YEAR…

    The only nonsense is Fulham’s handling of this.

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  15. As am I. I’ve watched De Rossi for the last couple of years and thought, that’s what Michael Bradley has the potential to be. So awesome to see them together.

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  16. Adebayor signing gives an interesting twist to Dempsey’s potential transfer. Because Adebayor was tied with Dempsey for the fourth place in EPL scoring, the clubs that might be interested in signing Dempsey (Liverpool, Asenal or another club), will have a legitimate argument that Dempsey’s transfer price should be around £5 million fee that Hotspur paid for Adebayor. Fulham would have a harder time arguing that Dempsey should fetch £10 million transfer fee.

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  17. Could be a two-edged sword that De Rossi is staying. It will be great for Micheal Bradley to be paired with him in the midfield and learn from him during training, but it may end up costing Bradley a lot of playing time if he can’t win a starting position. If De Rossi left, he was almost assured a place in the starting 11, now he is on the bubble.

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  18. I think we’re going to see Michael Bradley on an entirely different level this qualifying cycle now that he’ll be parred with De Rossi. Learning from a player like that will only help Bradley, very excited to see them team up in the MID for Roma.

    Reply

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