Sam Allardyce has revealed his regret at not being able to add Emmanuel Adebayor to his West Ham United squad during the winter window.
The Togolese forward has struggled to establish himself in Tottenham Hotspur’s first team plans this season, having started just nine times in the Premier League. Allardyce had hoped to take Adebayor on loan for the remainder of the campaign, but the White Hart Lane club were reluctant to let him join the Hammers due to their standing in the table near the fringes of the top-six.
West Ham have since endured a difficult time, and have won just one of their last eight Premier League matches to all but end any ambition they had of an unlikely qualification to the UEFA Champions League. They have also crashed out of the FA Cup following a 4-0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion last weekend, and Allardyce clearly regrets not being able to add Adebayor to his options.
“Any player with the ability that he has got is my kind of player,” he said. “Particularly with a relatively good goalscoring record. But it was not to be. We have players here that have got to perform from now to the end of the season. There is no let up. They can’t take it easy and sit back on what they have done in the past. They have got to hit the levels we have performed at for most of the season.”
Adebayor’s last appearance in the Premier League came last month when he came off the bench to help Mauricio Pochettino’s side defeat Sunderland at White Hart Lane, and Allardyce will hope his absence continues tomorrow when he takes his Hammers side across the capital. Last season the visitors enjoyed one of their best days in recent times, when they inflicted a 3-0 defeat on the hosts.
