Could Tevez Be The Final Piece In Fergie’s Jigsaw?…
Could Carlos Tevez be the last piece in United’s jigsaw and help Sir Alex achieve dominance at home and in Europe?
According to the press, the deal that would bring the Argentine to Old Trafford is done and dusted, although the forward, currently away with Argentina, played down talk that he could be United’s newest star within 48 hours, as one newspaper suggested.
“Once an offer arrives then we will see,” Tevez said. “But the fact that Real Madrid, Internazionale and Manchester United are interested in me makes me proud.
“Right now my focus is here [Copa America].I think it’s the best thing for my team. Once this is over, we shall see. If I have to stay at West Ham, it would be fine. I am happy there and people love me very much.”
Few accept that another year’s toil at Upton Park appeals to the much sought-after attacker. Certainly, the BBC’s well-connected hack Mihir Bose believes Tevez’s future could be at Old Trafford
“”I understand talks have been going on for several weeks now,” Bose said. “Manchester United are certainly very keen on Carlos Tevez but they are very complicated talks because of the nature of the loan arrangement he has at West Ham.
“What is going on is whether he goes on a permanent move, which would involve a very high fee. Certainly, Tevez’s people would want in the region of what Zinedine Zidane went for when he moved to Real Madrid - about £40m.
“Or he could go on the same arrangement his colleague Javier Mascherano went to Liverpool under when he left West Ham. That was a two-year deal and a sort of extended loan for a much lower fee.”
If United can indeed find the cash and trump the allure of Real Madrid to scoop yet another major young talent, it would represent an unprecedented third public relations bulls eye in two months for the club.
Events are moving at a dizzying speed. Earlier this week, the Mail newspaper was warning fans to set their sights far lower than Tevez. “Everton and Middlesbrough are keen on a £6m deal for England striker Alan Smith and United could put the money towards a bid for Blackburn’s Benni McCarthy,” the newspaper warned.
United now appear to have the financial muscle to compete for a higher bracket of player. The spin machine behind United’s owning family will be keen for this point to be made clear, no doubt hoping to take some of the sting out of the controversy over the Automatic Ticket Scheme.
Few would have believed a massively indebted United would find £70 million to spend on players just two, or perhaps three years before Sir Alex’s retirement. It remains to be seen exactly how the Glazers are financing these deals. Surely, the fans cannot be squeezed any further.
United need a striker and after a slow start, Tevez has confirmed that he has the qualities to succeed in the English game. Speed of thought, bustling industry, zeal and effervescence are hallmarks of the player who is credited with saving West Ham from the drop, scoring seven goals in his last 10 league games.
United fans are already cock-a-hoop at the sexy football to come. Tevez will bring yet more variation to Sir Alex’s selection and is the high-class front man that United need to complete the squad refurbishment. The manager deserves credit for his quick and expert acquisitions this transfer window. Tevez would reinforce the excellent deals so far and would be the kind of numbing reality check to rivals that United used to deliver so well in the 1990’s - Think you stand a chance? Watch us claim Cantona, then Keane, then Cole then Stam and then Yorke!
If the press reports are accurate, Tevez will take his place in an awe inspiring strike line-up which includes Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Louis Saha and new boy Anderson. Questions remain as to whether Tevez’s preferred game is too similar to that of Rooney’s to stop them running into each other. The Guardian newspaper was quick to prick the balloon of excitement that built up as news leaked of the prospective deal.
“Many observers feel Tevez, who has only scored four goals in 25 appearances for Argentina, does not fit that bill, and that he prefers to rampage all over the final third of the pitch in a style more akin to Wayne Rooney, meaning that if the two were to be paired together, the attack may still lack a focal point,” the journal revealed.
“However, Ferguson is of the opinion that, even if the Argentinian is not a ‘fox-in-the-box’, his pace, power, intelligence and instinct mean he will combine well with United’s other attackers and plunder plenty of goals, even if many opportunities are spurned for want of a specialist poacher.”
Tevez looks to be well-equipped to play in the ‘hole’ just behind a strong, pacy front man, in the manner of a Rooney. Sir Alex has weighed the evidence of both men’s talents but must be confident that a strict training ground regimen will provide the necessary solution. Certainly, with Rooney and Tevez up front, United threaten to bamboozle all but the most alert defenders, with their clever movement and eye for a pass.
A deal for Tevez would allow Fergie to freshen his line-up at will next season without hint of weakening his team. Tactical variation between 4-4-2 and the more conservative 4-2-1-3 would be likely too, given that the manager would have at his disposal his most formidable squad in a decade. It has youth, speed, experience and players liable to improve as the veterans decline. Whatever the future holds for Sir Alex, he is likely to bequeath a rich inheritance to his successor.
Less than a year ago, Jose Mouirinho brought the then reigning champions to Manchester and watched his team cleave a draw from a tight contest. Sensing United’s disappointment, the Chelsea boss went for the red jugular.
“The United bench is a good one but it’s true that they have no attacking players there,” Mourinho said. “Solskjaer is injured, the Korean player Park is injured so they have not got that type of player on the substitutes’ bench. That is not perfect for them.”
Barring the freakish injury run of the past season, United would have no such worries, were Tevez to reinforce the ranks - a top eleven on the pitch and five hungry talents on the sidelines desperate to be part of the action.
Opposition fans are now wondering whether their teams can catch United next term. The pressure will be on Sir Alex to convert the money spent into trophies. Fergie however, will be confident of at last having the means at his disposal, from defence right through to attack, to face down the challenges to Red dominance wherever they emerge. Chelsea and perhaps Liverpool and Arsenal will certainly make an argument of the title and the usual suspects lie in wait on the Champions League trail but by his boldness, Sir Alex has made the contests to come all the more thrilling.
