Flu bugs are not usually welcome, but the one that struck down Jermain Defoe yesterday was very conveniently timed, to say the least. It kept him away from the Portsmouth training ground and it means that he will not be cup-tied by turning out for the FA Cup holders against Bristol City at Fratton Park today. And it suggests that his return to Tottenham Hotspur after 11 months on the South Coast is imminent.

The club sent a member of its medical staff to Defoe's home in Hertfordshire to check him, but were at pains to point out that this is standard procedure in the event of a player's illness and not them checking whether he was throwing a sickie. “I don't disbelieve anyone, I trust him and have a good relationship with him,” Tony Adams, the Portsmouth manager, said.

So we will never know if Adams would have attempted to assert himself by selecting Defoe today, ruling him out of playing in the FA Cup for any other team and thereby reducing his value to a new employer. However, Adams was bloody-minded enough to send on Lassana Diarra as a substitute in the 2-1 defeat away to Bolton Wanderers two weeks ago, exposing the midfield player to possible injury that would have put in jeopardy his £19million transfer to Real Madrid, with all the potential consequences to the club's threadbare finances.

Adams, though, is under no illusions about Defoe's desire to leave Fratton Park, with Tottenham, who are managed by Harry Redknapp, the former Portsmouth manager, his preferred destination - although Aston Villa and Manchester City are also interested.

“Peter Storrie [the executive chairman] had a meeting with him last Wednesday, which I sat in on, and Jermain expressed a desire to leave,” Adams said. “I think Peter is talking to a few clubs about him but the final decision will be mine and I have a price in mind of what I think he is worth.

“He is a superb player and a great goalscorer but I have not yet made up my mind whether or not I am going to sell him. I have to make a call on that like I had to with Lassana Diarra when Real Madrid came knocking. If I wanted to play him against Bristol City, I could, because he is still a Portsmouth player, but it looks as if his illness has taken that out of my hands.”

Reports have linked Adams to a bid for Scott Brown, the Celtic midfield player - who is represented by Willie McKay, Redknapp's agent of choice and therefore a familiar figure at Portsmouth - but the £9million fee quoted would put the Scot well out of Portsmouth's price range even if Defoe goes at Portsmouth's valuation of £15million. The club's debts mean that Adams is unlikely to be allowed to reinvest anywhere near the majority of any funds raised.

Yesterday, though, Storrie was talking up the club's position. “The club is not in any financial difficulty,” he said. “Yes, we are up for sale, but so are about a third of Premier League clubs. Sacha Gaydamak [the owner] will only sell to a buyer who is prepared to invest and take the club to the next level. If that doesn't happen, he will continue to support Portsmouth Football Club in the same way that he has for the past three years.

“Having sold Lassana Diarra to Real Madrid, we do not have to sell any more players. Jermain Defoe seems to want to leave and Tony Adams said publicly on the day he took the manager's job that he only wants players here who want to play for the club.

“Should we sell Jermain it will only be at the right price. Spurs are clearly interested but if they want him, they will have to match our valuation. It will be on our terms. And if he goes, he will be the only one and he will be replaced. Even then it will be up to Tony.”