Football: Lyon Drop Interest In Tardy Adebayor

LYON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News -17th Sept,2016) : Lyon will not be pursuing negotiations for veteran striker Emmanuel Adebayor after he stalled on his arrival, the French club said on Saturday.

In a brief statement the Ligue 1 side said the 32-year-old had "delayed his arrival in Lyon since the beginning of the week before coming to Parc OL on Friday to have talks with coach Bruno Genesio".

It added that free agent Adebayor "also wanted to play the Africa Cup of Nations with Togo at the beginning of 2017, which would have led to an absence of one to two months". Lyon signed striker Jean-Philippe Mateta on Thursday from French lower league side Chateauroux, and while the 19-year-old is not eligible for the Champions League, he can play domestic competitions -- which would have also been the case for Adebayor.

And with attacking midfielders Mathieu Valbuena and Nabil Fekir set to return for the visit of Montpellier on Wednesday, Genesio opted against signing the veteran.

Adebayor is without a club after scoring just one goal for Crystal Palace in a six-month spell with the Premier League club last season.

Adebayor played arguably the best football of his career in the Premier League with Arsenal and Manchester City. He moved on loan to Real Madrid for six months in January 2011 and although he returned to City, the Togo international was subsequently sent on loan to Tottenham the following season.

Adebayor secured a permanent deal in 2012 and was Spurs's top scorer with 14 goals from 25 appearances, but was released by the club in September 2015. He also played for French clubs Metz and Monaco at the start of his career.