THIERRY HENRY has offered a glowing tribute to Emmanuel Adebayor, the striker who has been tipped to follow him and Alexander Hleb on the transfer route from Arsenal to Barcelona.
The future of Adebayor, amid interest from Catalonia and Milan, remains unclear and Henry stopped short of recommending that the Togo international join him at Camp Nou, but he is a clear admirer of the Arsenal man's talents.
"He had an amazing last season," said Henry. "When you have a season like that a lot of teams will want to get you.
"It is up to him. He knows his mind. I can't talk for him and I don't know what his choice will be, but that's what happens to you when you have a great year."
The 30-year-old Frenchman expressed delight that Hleb, who moved from Arsenal to Barca last week for €15m, would play alongside him next season.
"Alexander is a versatile player," said Henry. "He can play on the right, the left or behind the strikers. He can change the course of a game in a split second. He has great vision and technique.
"I better stop now because you will think I am talking about Pele, but he has a lot of qualities and hopefully he will be a great player for us."
Twelve months ago Henry, who now describes himself as an "Arsenal fan", insisted his old club could win honours in their first year without him. He followed the same theme yesterday, despite Hleb's departure and the possibility of Adebayor following the Belarusian to pastures new.
"Last year people asked me if Arsenal could win things and I said yes, they could," Henry explained. "In the end, they easily could and didn't.
"I will say the same this time. Arsène [ Wenger] brings in players people don't know about; I don't know how he does it. Nobody gives Arsenal much credit at the start of a season but they are always around. Hopefully they can bring some silverware to the Emirates."
Henry is part of the Barca squad, under the guidance of Pep Guardiola for the first time, who have returned to Scotland for a second pre-season week in as many years. Training sessions at St Andrews' university playing fields have attracted decent crowds, but there are private concerns that the attendance when Barcelona face Hibernian at the 67,800-capacity Murrayfield stadium tomorrow night may not exceed 25,000.
A year ago a Barca team including Ronaldinho and Deco played Hearts in front of 57,857 spectators at the same venue.
For Henry, tomorrow's encounter and the meeting with Dundee United at Tannadice on Saturday represent a chance to start afresh after a troubled first season in La Liga. He added:
"Hopefully it cannot be any worse than last season. I came to a new town, a new language, I was injured at the start of the season but I wanted to play rather than work with the fitness coach. I paid the price for that.
"The team was also not doing so well. It is always easier in a winning team. But without playing well I scored 19 goals. Now I am feeling better, fresher, we have a new coach, I have the desire and hopefully there can be more of me finding the back of the net.
Lionel Messi is part of the Barca party on Scotland's east coast, amid a row between his club and the Argentinian FA. Argentina want him to play for in the Olympic Games and he is keen to travel to Beijing, but Barcelona want to retain his services for next month's Champions League qualifier. The matter is in Fifa's hands.
Guardian Service
