Milan say Adebayor is sole target for summer

(GETTY IMAGES)

Milan declared yesterday that Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor was their sole transfer target this summer - just two weeks after the Italian club announced that it was in talks with Chelsea's Didier Drogba and also hoped to sign Andrei Shevchenko.

However the declaration of interest in Adebayor is genuine not least because the 24-year-old Togo striker, who is also wanted by Barcelona, has indicated, privately at least, his desire to move to the San Siro.

Talks have taken place between Milan and Adebayor's agent, Stephane Courbis, and it is understood that personal terms have been agreed although Arsenal, despite a fee in excess of £20m being mooted, are reluctant to sell. The Gunners manager Arsene Wenger is adamant that although he may lose Alexander Hleb, with Barcelona and Inter keen on the midfielder, he wants to hold on to Adebayor and prevent him joining Mathieu Flamini in Milan.

Nevertheless Wenger will be angry at the knowledge that Adebayor - who had a history of being troublesome before joining Arsenal - has been agitating for a move. That annoyance will have been heightened by the statement yesterday from Milan's vice-president Adriano Galliani.

He said: "One single player interests us and that is Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor. If he doesn't come nobody will and we will keep the team as it is in attack. We are in negotiations with Arsenal, who are not willing to sell at the moment. We'll see how far we can get with our offer. If the English club still don't want to sell, then too bad."

Given the demands of the club’s coach Carlo Ancelotti's that Milan invest this summer - it was part of the bargaining tool he used with the club following his negotiations with Chelsea - that appears unlikely. Instead it seems that Galliani is intent of increasing the pressure on Arsenal.

Galliani revealed at the beginning of June that Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto'o, Dimitar Berbatov and Mario Gomez of VfB Stuttgart were all on Milan's wish list along with Adebayor. It is widely known that Milan are in the market for two strikers - a powerful main striker and a second striker such as Shevchenko who can act as back-up.