Andre Villas-Boas: Tottenham unlikely to sign a new striker

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas says he is not looking to sign a striker in January despite losing Emmanuel Adebayor to the Africa Cup of Nations. Adebayor's absence will leave the Spurs with Jermain Defoe as their only recognised forward, and they have been linked with Brazilian Leandro Damiao. But the manager said: "I don't think Adebayor's decision will affect our transfer policy. We're pretty happy with the options we have. I think we're able to cope." Of Internacional forward Damiao, who was top scorer at the 2012 Olympics, Villas-Boas said: "Leandro is a player that we have always appreciated at this club but it is extremely unlikely that he will play for Tottenham." Togo captain Emmanuel Adebayor will leave for the Cup of Nations, which starts on 19 January, after Tottenham's Premier League match at Queens Park Rangers on Saturday. Spurs then host Manchester United on 20 January before travelling to Leeds or Birmingham in the FA Cup on 26 January. Away games against Norwich and West Bromwich Albion precede the visit of Newcastle on 9 February, with the Cup of Nations ending the next day. Without Adebayor, who has scored three goals in 17 appearances this season, Tottenham will have to rely mostly on Defoe for goals, and the England international has struck 14 times in 28 games this season. Winger Gareth Bale is second in their scoring charts on 11 goals, while forward Clint Dempsey has six and winger Aaron Lennon three. "We understand that we can put ourselves in a difficult position if one of our strikers gets injured," said Villas-Boas. "But we've been in this situation before when Ade was injured, and we managed to go through it. We always believe in Dempsey as a striker." Jermain Defoe is the favourite to score in Saturday's game at QPR, Bet365 have him at 11/10 to find the back of the net in that match, while Gareth Bale is priced at 6/4.