Tim Sherwood has conceded Aston Villa's chase for Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor has hit the buffers after discussions with the Togo international.
Adebayor had been linked with a reunion with Sherwood - who coached him at Tottenham - after being frozen out at White Hart Lane, with a loan move the more likely option.
Despite travelling north for talks about a switch to Villa Park, Sherwood admitted a deal for the 31-year-old now looks unlikely.
"It's unfair to talk about him [Adebayor] because he is a Tottenham player," he said. "I can't speculate on where he might go.
"He's their player and that's it. He was here and we spoke, but he's a Tottenham player.
"We had discussions and he is still a Tottenham player so something went wrong."
Sherwood has seen key members of his squad depart during the close-season with Fabian Delph and Christian Benteke leaving for Manchester City and Liverpool respectively.
Replacements have been found in the shape of Jordan Ayew and Jordan Veretout, and Sherwood is confident his new-look Villa can perform well this season.
Sherwood added: "We have a good recruitment process here. We've brought in players we feel can improve our team.
"I want to improve on last year which we certainly need to do if we're to stay in this division. We're confident we can achieve that."
