SOCCER:Portsmouth manager Tony Adams insists he will have the final say over whether or not Jermain Defoe leaves the club but admits he will be willing to sell if the price is right.

Defoe is unavailable for the FA Cup visit of Bristol City as he was absent from training after phoning in sick and Adams revealed the club have sent a doctor to the striker's Hertfordshire home to assess his condition.

The England forward has become one of the most sought-after players this transfer window with Aston Villa, Manchester City and Tottenham all vying for his signature.

Defoe, 26, held a meeting with executive chairman Peter Storrie and Adams last week when he signalled his intentions to walk out on the FA Cup holders less than 12 months after joining them from Spurs for €9million.

Adams said: "Jermain is not very well and a doctor is going round his house to assess him. Peter Storrie had a meeting with him last Wednesday, which I sat in on, and Jermain expressed a desire to leave.

"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."

In Defoe's absence Peter Crouch will assume a lone role upfront as Portsmouth begin their defence of the FA Cup title they won at Wembley in May.