When does fact become fiction or fiction become fact? The starting place for these might well be football’s transfer mill. If one club is desperately seeking comfort through the spending of cash, there is not one shred of doubt that they will be the source of a high percentage of rumours. That the club in question is playing in the English Premier League is manna from heaven for journalists covering the sport in this country.

Manchester City are intent on buying their way to the title. It will take more than one summer splurge to do so. An impressive first XI is worth nothing if the players who will be needed when injuries and suspension strike are not up to standard. That is not to dismiss them; were City to sign Adebayor and Terry then they may have the potential to become a good team. Even if they do sign those and more players, there is no guarantee that they will become a good team. A huge raft of signings will take time to bed down and that is going to be a commodity in precious short supply at Eastlands once this summer is over.

For Adebayor, the question is what his ambitions in the game are. Where will he best achieve them? With the best will in the world, none of the players who have signed for Manchester City since their takeover has done so to believe in the ‘project’ as it is being euphemistically called. The primary reason has been money. When manager of Arsenal, George Graham shied away from signing players from bigger clubs since those from smaller clubs were hungrier for success. Far from being good for the English game, should Manchester City rise to the top, they merely reinforce the idea that merit is no longer a benchmark but money is. Not that fans of Manchester City will care right now.

Does Adebayor believe in achieving success? Will he win the Premier League title at Eastlands or The Emirates? Or is it going to be the lure of money that holds sway? Whatever happens, City has yet to lodge a bid that matches the reported £25m valuation placed on him by Arsenal. We can argue the merits of this either way but at the time of writing, he is still an Arsenal player and personally, I would prefer that he remain one. There are few world class forwards available for purchase. If reports are to be believed, proven strikers are in short supply. Those at the peak at larger clubs are not going to be easily prised away. Arsene will no doubt have a list of those ready for replacing the Togo striker and in that, you have to place some trust.

Could he go into the season without buying someone to replace Adebayor? I do not think so. Eduardo and Bendtner have the ability but for differing reasons, cannot be relied upon just yet. The Croat is on the return from a serious injury and yet to put together a run in the first team, proving his fitness. That is the risk in relying upon him. The Dane by contrast is ready in terms of fitness but short on experience. I believe he will be a leading Arsenal striker in the future but is perhaps a season or two away from leading the line in all competitions. He is definitely a confidence player and the autumn saw this at a low point. The turning point came at The Hawthorns. Can Arsene leave this season to chance?

With the replacements mooted, there are risks. Dzeko has been a star in the Bundesliga for one season. Chamakh played for the French champions. Neither has an overall impressive goalscoring ratio for their careers but then neither did Adebayor before arriving at Arsenal.

The key thing is that Adebayor is undervalued by sections of the Arsenal support. Yes, he could score more but then Robin van Persie criticised himself for the same thing. Football is a team game and that which Adebayor brings to the side is undervalued in a welter of complaints about offsides and only scoring against Derby County. The former misses how tightly he plays on the last defender’s shoulder whilst the latter, well, if he did not score against them, he would be charged with failing to score against Derby County.

The remaining forwards do not bring the aerial option for Arsenal. It would mean a change to the way that the team plays,losing the variety. Yes, I know that we do not score that many headers but that is evolving, certainly last season when the unbeaten run was put together, the completeness of the play in footballing terms was key to that. Vela and Walcott, in my opinion, will always be the support striker to an established forward. In the latter’s case, he has much to learn about being a central striker before even being considered for Arsenal in the Premier and Champions Leagues.

If Adebayor goes, he goes. The club will still be here, the squad loses a good player. I would be surprised if he went since City are not in the Champions League and will not be Premier League champions next season. They have too much ground to make up. His departure would weaken the squad of that there is no question.

To deny it is to delude yourself. For all of the media hype, I suspect he will not go unless Arsenal says to him you can. Reports that his agent met with City at the weekend cannot be dismissed but even with the money, will he be improving his lot as a player?