Mark Hughes has expressed his admiration for Emmanuel Adebayor but admitted Fulham are not in a position to bring him in.
Hughes worked with the striker during his time in charge of Manchester City and has a lot of respect for him as a person as well as a player.
Adebayor's future is currently uncertain after falling down the pecking order at Eastlands, with Roberto Mancini stating that he had yet to decide whether to let the 26-year-old leave.
While Hughes accepts that he would love to sign somebody of Adebayor's quality, the Cottagers could probably not afford such a deal.
"Manu is a guy who I like as a person," said Hughes. "As a player, he did well for me.
"He had problems when he went out of the team but he's a good guy.
"Any team that had a player of the quality of Adebayor would be strengthened.
"But that doesn't mean that we're in a position to bring him here, I have to say."
As well as looking to strengthen his squad before the transfer window slams shut, Hughes is also determined to keep all his key men.
Several of his squad are out of contract at the end of the season and while some may be allowed to leave, one man the Fulham boss is desperate to keep is captain Danny Murphy.
Talks over a new deal are progressing well, according to Hughes, who said: "We're very, very hopeful that that will be concluded very quickly."