Mark Hughes has piled praise on Emmanuel Adebayor ahead of Stoke City's trip to White Hart Lane this Sunday, claiming that the Tottenham Hotspur striker has the "whole package".
Hughes worked with the Togolese frontman when both were at Manchester City, and insists that the 30-year-old's reputation as being a difficult player to manage is off the mark.
"He wasn't difficult. I liked him as a guy, I thought he was a good character," Hughes told the Daily Star. "There was always that feeling that he had everything you needed from a top striker. He has size, pace, power and ability on the ball. He's the whole package when he wants to be.
"Ade was fine for me and he started off fantastically well for me at City, he scored four goals in his first four games. Then he scored that goal against Arsenal and ran the length of the pitch to celebrate.
"But he was suspended after that, when he came back he didn't quite hit the levels he had done before that. Not long after that I was off! So I didn't actually work with him for too long. But I certainly welcomed his arrival at City."
Hughes will be hoping for a better performance from his side when they face Mauricio Pochettino's men after they threw away a two-goal lead against West Ham United in their last Premier League outing.
Phil Archbold
