Emmanuel Adebayor is on the brink of completing a permanent transfer to Tottenham Hotspur, as Manchester City remove one obstacle to their pursuit of Arsenal's Robin van Persie. Tottenham believe that they can secure the signature of Adebayor for £5m, although they may have to pay a slightly higher fee, and they are close to a compromise over his salary demands.

Adebayor, who spent last season on loan at White Hart Lane, has one year remaining on his £170,000-a-week City contract. During his loan, City contributed £100,000 of his weekly wage. But Tottenham are ready to give the striker a massive signing-on fee and a lower salary to fit him into the chairman Daniel Levy's pay structure.

Adebayor is keen to remain at Tottenham, where he scored 17 Premier League goals last time out and the club's new manager André Villas-Boas wants him to join permanently. Villas-Boas likes to play a 4-3-3 formation and Adebayor would fit in as the lead striker. Villas-Boas also has an interest in the Brazil and Internacional striker Leandro Damião.

Tottenham's move for Adebayor has implications for Van Persie's future. City are resolved to sign the Dutchman after he made it clear last week that he wanted to leave Arsenal but, first, they must trim the number of strikers on their payroll, which currently stands at seven.

Van Persie played with Adebayor at Arsenal but the pair are confirmed enemies after the notorious afternoon at City in September 2009, when Adebayor raked his studs across his opponent's face. Van Persie accused him afterwards of a "mindless and malicious stamp". "He set out to hurt me," Van Persie said. "The contact was only centimetres from my eye."

There is no chance of Van Persie joining City while Adebayor remains at the club. City are poised to make an offer of around £15m for Van Persie, who has one year to run on his Arsenal contract and they do not want to go above £20m. Arsenal's valuation of the double footballer of the year is considerably higher.

Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, said last season that there was no possibility of him selling Van Persie to City and the club have threatened to hold him to the final year of his contract, whether he likes it or not.

Wenger has signed the strikers Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud for a combined £24m.