It has been many months that speculation has abounded around whether Manchester United will spend the £30 million necessary to secure the services of Carlos Tevez on a permanent basis.
Tevez himself has started to suggest that he might move on from Old Trafford at the end of the season. When asked in an interview for Argentine radio whether he thought his time with United was coming to an end, Tevez simply replied, “I think so.”
He went on to say,
“There are many players and they all need to play but I have not played important matches. As a player I can’t permit myself to play one game, but not another. And also, the World Cup is coming up. I see it very difficult to stay with Manchester United. That’s the reality. You can score three or four goals and not play in the next game. It gets to your head. I need to play.”
Sir Alex Ferguson has been asked about the Tevez situation several times and has repeatedly said that the matter would be sorted out at the end of the season.
Elsewhere
If actions speak louder than words, the £30.75 million purchase of Dimitar Berbatov and the increased use of Danny Welbeck and Frederico Macheda, suggest that Tevez might need to look elsewhere. He told the interviewer that he had received several offers and that at least one club from Spain’s La Liga were interested in signing him. Real Madrid are believed to be that club.
This season has been something of a stop start affair for Tevez. He has started just sixteen games for United and has been substituted seven times. He has sat on the bench thirteen times and has been used as a substitute on just eight of those occasions. In total he has scored a respectable thirteen goals, but six of those came in the Carling Cup, four of which were in one game. He hasn’t been sent-off this season but has picked up five yellow cards.
Last season, of course, he played in most of United’s big games and played a major part in their Champions League and Premier League winning double. He played all one hundred and twenty minutes of last season’s Champions League final and scored his penalty in the shoot-out.
Pursuit
Despite that and the nineteen goals he scored in thirty-eight games, Sir Alex Ferguson made no secret of his pursuit of Berbatov in the Summer. We all assumed that he wouldn’t be a replacement for Rooney, so Tevez must have known straight away that his position was under threat.
The question is, whether Carlos Tevez is worth the money that Manchester United would have to spend on him to secure him on a full contract.
The twenty-five year old striker has played forty-eight games for Argentina but has managed just eight goals. In fact, last season was probably his most prolific ever.
Non-stop
He doesn’t bring too many goals to the team but there can be no doubt about what he does bring. I don’t think I have seen a harder working forward player in all my years of watching the game. He is absolutely non-stop for ninety minutes and never gives defenders a chance to take a breath. For Tevez, nothing is a lost cause and he will chase anything and everything until the final whistle blows.
There is no doubt that Tevez is a fine player as well as being industrious, but is he good enough?
His style of play could hardly be more contrasting than that of his, in effect replacement, Dimitar Berbatov. Against Tevez’s effort and industry, Berbatov appears remarkably lazy. On the other hand, against Tevez’s sometimes clumsy first touch, Berbatov has a touch as good as anyones.
Popular
Generally fans warm to the player who works hard and Tevez has been remarkably popular wherever he has been, but more educated fans sometimes accept less hard work for more skill.
Berbatov or Tevez? They couldn’t be more different.
Should United the spend the money and sign Tevez?
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