Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has insisted that he always wanted to keep hold of Emmanuel Adebayor, despite the striker being heavily linked with a move away from the club during January.

Adebayor was thought to be on the verge of leaving White Hart Lane on transfer deadline day having chosen to join West Ham United on loan, only for Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to block the move to their London rivals.

Pochettino admitted that he was prepared for the striker's exit but stressed that his preferred situation was always to keep Adebayor at the club.

"I knew he could go and I would have been happy to play with two strikers for the rest of the season," Pochettino is quoted as saying by PA.

"Possibly, we could have used Nacer Chadli or Erik Lamela, but the first thing was that I wanted to keep Adebayor in the squad. It is important to clarify that.

"After, when the players want to play more or some club calls them, and they want to leave because they feel they can play more, it becomes a club decision. It is not only about love. In the past it was difficult for him and what was happening."

Spurs are next in action on Saturday lunchtime when they welcome Arsenal to White Hart Lane for the North London derby.