Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel is adamant that Emmanuel Adebayor’s presence at White Hart Lane is not causing issues in the first-team squad.

The highly-paid Togo striker has been a divisive figure in north London in recent times and was heavily linked with a deadline day switch way from the club, which eventually fell through.

As well as irking fans with his perceived lack of effort on the pitch, there have been suggestions that he annoyed his own team-mates by inviting opposition players into the Spurs dressing room after the 2-1 loss against Newcastle.

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Adabayor’s recent brief appearances for the club have been greeted with boos from sections of the Lilywhites’ supporters as well, but Friedel – the club’s third choice stopper and a Premier League veteran at the age of 43 – told talkSPORT that there are no issues surrounding the ex-Arsenal marksman:

“Emmanuel Adebayor is a very big character. He’s got a very strong ego and he can deal with [the booing] but I do agree with what Mauricio [Pochettino] was saying. [Booing] does bring a negative energy.

“A lot of people want a far sexier story than it actually is. Adebayor is not a bad lad. He’s not bad around the training ground. He causes no issues whatsoever to any of the staff or the players.

“The stories that he was bringing Newcastle players into the changing room and there was a row with players – that never happened. Well, nothing that I saw.

“I think the fans, because of his wages, because of his past and because of how good he can be, want to make a bigger story out of this than there actually is.

“The story is Mauricio came in, he likes Adebayor, Roberto Soldado and Harry Kane, and he was trying to find the right formula. Kane started scoring, so Harry is playing. I don’t think there is anything else to it than that.

“Adebayor turns up to training like everybody else and he’s a team-mate and a friend. If stories transpire in the newspapers because of it there is nothing we can do to help that.

“I think a lot of people are getting a feeling he is a bad egg around the place but he isn’t. He’s a good guy that trains and tries to get himself into the team and that is that.”

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