AC Milan have finally admitted that they have no chance of signing the Arsenal striker identified as their only summer transfer target, after being priced out of the market.
The Rossoneri had said that they wanted to bring Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor to the San Siro, but faced competition from Spanish giants Barcelona. However, apart from agent claims that a deal was “80% done”, nothing has gone Milan’s way. As vice president Adriano Galliani states, Milan have seemingly been priced out of the chase:
Adebayor is overridden by continuous requests for €45million. These figures are impossible for clubs in Italy.
Galliani went on to complain that Milan cannot compete with the apparent endless wealth of some of Europe’s biggest players, with transfer targets heading for the bigger stage of England or Spain:
The top footballers in the world do not come here [to Serie A] any more.
When big clubs like Barcelona and Chelsea arrive it is impossible to compete because they have a much more advantageous fiscal situation.
The news will in no way change the stance of Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, who has always maintained that he was not fazed by the speculation and that Adebayor was going nowhere:
He’s under contract and that’s quite simple. I can tell you as manager of Arsenal I’m not worried.
Of course I expect him to be at Arsenal next season – he’s under contract.
But with Adebayor publicly flip-flopping over a move away from the Emirates Stadium and Camp Nou’s busy summer not yet over, is the saga put to bed by the claims from Milan or has it just made it a one-horse race?