Real Madrid resurrect interest in Manchester City's Emmanuel Adebayor

Real Madrid will make a renewed attempt to sign the Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor after Hamburg rebuffed their attempts to re-sign Ruud van Nistelrooy. It is understood that despite Mario Balotelli's continued knee problems – which saw the Italian travel to America to visit the renowned specialist Bill Knowles last week – City would be receptive to a loan deal for Adebayor, who has started just two league games this season. But the English club would insist on the striker's £175,000-a-week wages being paid in full before they sanction a move to the Bernabéu. Bernd Hoffman, Hamburg's chairman, confirmed on their website yesterday that Madrid had offered €2m (£1.7m) plus a friendly match for the 34-year-old Van Nistelrooy but that the Spanish club's advances had been rebuffed "again and for the last time". Hoffmann said that Hamburg, currently sixth in the Bundesliga, want to do everything to secure a place in European competition next season and that allowing the Dutchman to leave would be "unthinkable". Real remain intent on finding a striker during the January transfer window to replace, at least temporarily, the Argentinian Gonzalo Higuaín, who has been ruled out for up to four months with a back injury.