Crystal Palace completed their first signing of the transfer window yesterday as the club confirmed the signing of experienced forward Emmanuel Adebayor on a free transfer.
The striker, 31, has been without a club since he finally agreed to terminate his contract with Tottenham in September following a dispute over compensation, and told the club's official website, "I chose Palace because my family live in London."
Adebayor has had previous successful spells in the capital with Premier League clubs, having turned out for both North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham either side of a big-money move to Manchester City. He also spent time on loan at Spanish giants Real Madrid from City.
He also admitted that he was looking forward to teaming up with some of his friends that he already knows at the club. He said, "I have a lot of friends at Palace. I know Pape Souare, Yannick Bolasie, Wilfried Zaha and Connor Wickham", and went on to say that he was "attracted by the way the team play."
Adebayor has been keeping himself fit despite being without a club
He was unable to provide a specific date as to when he would make his debut, but admitted that he has been keeping himself fit by working out in the gym and playing matches back in his native Africa.
"I think you can see on my social media sites that I have been working out every day", he claimed.
Palace have lacked goals from their forward players this season. Connor Wickham's goal against Stoke is the only goal from any Palace striker in the league and Alan Pardew has signed Adebayor to improve his side's fortunes in the final third.
Adebayor needs just eight goals to become the highest-scoring African player in Premier League history, a record currently held by Didier Drogba who netted 104 times for Chelsea in English football's top tier.
Saturday's game against Stoke City in the FA Cup could come around too soon for Adebayor, but he could make his debut against Bournemouth at Selhurst on Tuesday, or away to Swansea City the following Saturday.