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It was 10 years ago this week Alan Pardew thought he had got his hands on a gem by signing a 21-year-old Emmanuel Adebayor.

Pardew believed the deal to bring Adebayor from Monaco to West Ham was ‘done’, when Arsene Wenger hijacked him for Arsenal.

A decade on, the Crystal Palace boss admits he is considering signing Adebayor again.

And for a manager with serious ambitions of landing the England job this summer, signing a striker as talented, yet infuriating as Adebayor could be the making or breaking of his ­candidacy. Palace’s form – and in particular their goal threat – has stalled. They have failed to score in four Premier League games and none of their specialist centre-forwards have netted from open play all season.

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So with Pardew insisting Palace would ‘kick themselves’ for not strengthening as they are only five points off the ­Champions League places, the Adebayor dilemma is intriguing for an ambitious manager.

Pardew said: “We had a couple of really close shaves bringing him to West Ham and I was very disappointed when ­ultimately Arsenal got him.

“I wouldn’t say it was them pipping us to him. It was kind of done. Then Arsenal heard it was getting done and decided he was for them. Now Adebayor is a player who is there for ­somebody and it is a question of ourselves wondering whether we are the right club for him is and he is the right player for us.

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“You want to bring in a quality player and so therefore you can’t dismiss anyone. Because 90 per cent of strikers are not ­available. It is a very, very small market for us so Adebayor is in that group.

“We still think another striker would pay dividends given the position we’re in.

“Although we are in a little negative period of results, two or three wins and we would be really kicking ourselves if we didn’t strengthen.”

But what about Adebayor’s reputation for trouble-making, an appetite for creating ­disharmony?

In pictures – Palace lose to Aston Villa:

Pardew said: “Whenever he has played against me he has been totally committed and he’s a dangerous world player. You have only got to look at his clubs. For whatever reason there has been a fall-out at Spurs but he remains a player that can have great impact and would improve us.

“And I have had difficult players before, non more difficult than Hatem Ben Arfa at Newcastle. If I can deal with him, I can deal with Adebayor for sure...”

Pardew takes Palace to Manchester City today, with sympathy for Manuel Pellegrini - the manager he once infamously called an ‘old c***’ in a touchline bust-up at Newcastle.

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The self-styled ‘Pardiola’ reckons Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola has affected Pellegrini’s power base by declaring he will move to the Premier League this summer, with City favourites to appoint him.

Pardew said: “It’s very difficult for him. When you are managing a club going for the title you need to be the power source.

“This announcement ­Guardiola made has taken the power away from some managers and that’s not ideal. I’m sure Pellegrini would admit that.

“But you have to admire the way he has dealt with it. If he wins the league and City then say to him, ‘thanks but we prefer a different manager’ he will be sitting pretty. That’s how us managers have to work sometimes.

“The agenda of the club is not determined by you, it’s ­determined by owners.”

Asked whether that might put him off managing a bigger club, Pardew replied: “I don’t think there are many agendas tougher than Newcastle, so I’ve had tough agendas.

“They’re not necessarily only at the big super clubs. If the agenda at the top changes then it might not be the right agenda for you and you have to move.”