Why Tottenham may have found their missing link with Adebayor

Emmanuel Adebayor should prove a sensational signing for Tottenham

When Tottenham Hotspur were humiliated 5-1 at home by Manchester City less than a month ago, it seemed they were a million miles away from being a Champions League outfit.

They had a deeply unsettled player on their hands in Luka Modric, had struggled to improve their squad all summer and were stuck with a number of players who were surplus to requirements at White Hart Lane.

It's amazing how quickly negativity can turn into positivity.

Following Sunday's 4-0 win over Liverpool, Spurs now look a vibrant side once again.

Modric is still there and his majestic opener against the Merseysiders and subsequent imperious performance suggests the summer-long transfer saga between him and Chelsea will not affect his on-field form.

The problem with deadwood has been sorted too, with the likes of Peter Crouch, Wilson Palacios, Alan Hutton, Jermaine Jenas and David Bentley eventually lured away in the closing stages of the transfer window.

But undoubtedly the key change from that fateful Sunday afternoon in August against City has been two key signings.

Scott Parker will add determination and steel to the midfield and should be the perfect foil for Modric and Rafael van der Vaart, who will both have the freedom to exploit attacking situations.

Parker's passion and ability will be key additions to Tottenham's side

He joins as the reigning Football Writers' Player of the Year and his experience and ability to rally the troops will be needed increasingly as the campaign progresses.

It is the capture of Emmanuel Adebayor on a loan deal though which should provide Tottenham with their missing link.

Too many times last season Spurs couldn't see off relatively modest opposition due to their inability to score goals.

They scored the lowest number of league goals of any of the top six - with 55 - while all three newly-promoted clubs at least matched their tally.

Jermain Defoe was injured for long periods and couldn't get a real run in the team when he returned, Peter Crouch did an honest job up front but could only score four league goals in 34 appearances, Roman Pavlyuchenko chipped in with his fair share of goals but struggled to make an impact in many of his appearances while midfielder van der Vaart was the club's top goalscorer with 13 league goals.

The signing of Adebayor should change all that.

He has struck three times in the league in just two games for Spurs - already just one shy of Defoe and Crouch's tallies for the entire of last season.

Adebayor adds potency to the Spurs line-up and represents a real target for widemen Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon, as well as regular suppliers Modric and van der Vaart.

Bale and Adebayor should be relishing playing with each other

His all-round performance against Liverpool was fantastic and the two goals he scored were the least he deserved.

Adebayor was brave making the switch to White Hart Lane given Spurs fans' misgivings over his Arsenal past, but he has silenced the critics in the ideal way so early in his career at Spurs that he can now fully concentrate on proving his quality on the pitch and firing his team up the table.

The Togolese striker will strike fear into any defence - as proved by Rio Ferdinand's recent praise of him - and on his day is as good as anyone out there.

He was extremely unlucky to be frozen out by Manchester City, did a good job for Real Madrid in the second half of last season and was superb for Arsenal. The deal to take him to Tottenham is a win-win for both parties and it would be no surprise to see him fire his new club back into the Champions League.

Adebayor will thrive in Harry Redknapp's attack-minded team and a year's loan at White Hart Lane should breathe new life into his career.

He has a superb first touch, - as he proved with his second in the Liverpool thrashing - tremendous composure in front of goal, pace, power, great heading ability, skill and has a rocket of a shot, while he should be in his prime at 27. Adebayor is the all-round package and all he needs is the platform to prove it.

He comes with baggage of course, but all that will be worth it if he can be the regular goalscorer Spurs have been missing over the last year or so.

That man used to be Jermain Defoe, and it seems Adebayor's arrival has given him the shove he needed to return to form.

The Defoe-Adebayor partnership could be one of the most potent in the country

He looked sharp against Liverpool (scoring a well-taken goal) and his partnership with Adebayor looked impressive to say the least. They should feed off and compliment each other magnificently and Redknapp will justifiably be looking for both men to hit the 20-goal barrier if they can stay injury-free.

There is no excuse for either of them not to. They both have bags of talent and the team around them to make it happen. Which strikers wouldn't be licking their lips at playing alongside the likes of Bale, Modric, van der Vaart, Lennon and Parker, as well as attacking full-backs Kyle Walker and Benoit Assou-Ekotto?

If the Liverpool game is a sign of things to come, it could be a very exciting season at White Hart Lane.

It is harder than ever to breach the top four and qualify for the Champions League with the quality of the two Manchester clubs and Chelsea, but Spurs proved against Liverpool they have more than enough about them to qualify for Europe's premier competition.

Liverpool are very promising and this one performance doesn't change that, but Spurs were so superior against them it was frightening. Arsenal are out of the picture currently so why shouldn't Redknapp feel confident of again reaching the promised land?

This season may be his swansong at Tottenham as he is widely expected to take over as England boss after Euro 2012, but he could deliver Spurs fans the ultimate parting present with Champions League qualification.

The signing of goalkeeper Brad Friedel should not be overlooked either as he will provide real stability between the sticks, something Spurs didn't have with Heurelho Gomes.

The decision of chairman Daniel Levy to force Modric to stay raised a few eyebrows and some said it would backfire, but the early signs are that it will be a masterstroke with Spurs keeping a gem of a player and the Croatian again looking happy and producing his best on the pitch.

Modric's goal and performance against Liverpool suggests Levy's tactics were correct

The Europa League may be a distraction as the season progresses but with Redknapp rarely playing his full-strength team in that competition, it shouldn't affect them too much.

There is now much optimism at White Hart Lane and the negativity of the Modric saga and City thrashing has now been swept away by the swashbuckling display against Liverpool. The Reds may have ended the game with nine men but even with 11 on the pitch Spurs were far superior.

Tottenham look like they will be a menacing team this season and the 5-1 loss to City can now be forgotten about. That is not a true reflection of where they stand; it was merely a reflection of where they were then.

Now, with Modric on board again and pulling in the right direction, with Adebayor and Parker adding their undoubted quality to the team, a top four finish is far from beyond them.

Parker will be a resounding success but Adebayor should score goals for fun and strike up a great partnership with Defoe.

He is the missing link Redknapp has been searching for and will provide the focal point for potentially one of the most exciting sides in the Premier League.