Emmanuel Adebayor has asked for more time to mull over his proposed move from Arsenal to Manchester City, a transfer he fears could lead to strong criticisms of his motives in his native Togo. The striker's misgivings are such that City have been forced to delay plans for a medical while he considers their offer of a salary worth in excess of £150,000 a week.

Arsenal have accepted City's £25m bid and Adebayor has given his prospective new employers sufficient encouragement to organise a work-permit hearing at which the striker received permission to change employers. Adebayor, however, has concerns about being perceived as money-driven if he should leave a club that is hugely popular in Africa and go to one that has a much lower standing.

Although the opportunity to double his salary has an obvious appeal, Adebayor's preference was a move to Italy and he has asked City if they will allow him a few days to talk to his family and representatives before going through with a move that he believes could open him to criticism. The last year or so has been a difficult period for the 25-year-old, and he is acutely aware of how the public perception of him has changed for the worse.

City have already signed Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz and Gareth Barry this summer, but plans for Adebayor to join the squad as they left for a pre-season tour of South Africa have had to be shelved, and it is a measure of the player's uncertainty that his medical has not yet been booked in – contrary to earlier reports that he had already taken it.