West Ham and Arsenal vie to sign Togo striker Adebayor

Arsenal and West Ham United have been alerted to the availability of the striker Emmanuel Adebayor. The Togo international has been told that he is no longer wanted by Monaco, who would demand a fee of around £5m.

The French club have had a troubled time with Adebayor, who has repeatedly missed training and returned late after the Christmas break. Yesterday the president of the club, Michel Pastor, said that the 21-year-old would be excluded from the squad when he returned from the African Nations Cup.

"He will no longer train with the professional team until further notice and there will also be financial sanctions," Pastor said.

West Ham were close to agreeing a £6m deal last summer for the 6ft 3in striker, only for Monaco to change their minds at the last minute. West Ham are wary of doing business with the club again, and Adebayor has stated that he wants to join Arsenal.

West Ham, who remain hopeful of signing Chelsea's Glen Johnson or Tottenham's Stephen Kelly to replace Tomas Repka, have also targeted Dean Ashton, Andy Johnson and Red Star Belgrade's Nikola Zigic as they search for a striker. Zigic, a Serb, who stands at 6ft 5in, has also been linked to Arsenal with the manager Arsène Wenger appearing set on signing a tall striker as well as possibly bolstering central midfield.