Andy Gray warns Tim Sherwood off signing Emmanuel Adebayor for Aston Villa

Former Aston Villa striker Andy Gray has warned manager Tim Sherwood against signing Emmanuel Adebayor.

The Tottenham Hotspur forward is said to be close to sealing a switch from White Hart Lane to Villa Park, but Gray believes that Sherwood would be making a mistake by moving for the ex-Arsenal star.

Gray told talkSPORT: "Tim got a reaction from Adebayor when he was Tottenham coach and I'm hoping he can get the same kind of reaction. But would I trust Emmanuel Adebayor? No, I wouldn't.

"When you hear Ray Wilkins, a great guy who I love dearly, say 'when [Adebayor] wants to play', well he should want to play every time he is asked to play.

"That is my worry about Emmanuel Adebayor - that he will turn up when he wants to and won't bother when he doesn't want to."

Adebayor has been lined up as a replacement for Christian Benteke, who joined Liverpool last week.