Surely Manchester United must sign Carlos Tevez now. With Cristiano Ronaldo off to Madrid, the Red Devils need a replacement that cannot be found in one player. CR7 is a complete footballer, blessed with pace, power, dribbling, shooting, heading, free kicks, etc.
He is one of a kind. If United let Tevez go, they will have an underperforming Berbatov and Wayne Rooney spearheading the attack with no one of real pedigree on the bench in case one gets injured or banned. Manucho looks set to leave for Hull, Macheda is still 17 and Welbeck is just 18.
Tevez brings the class, the important goals, and the energy. He can help reclaim a few of the qualities Manchester United lost with Ronaldo, but not all.
He works well with the team, and up until recently said he wanted to stay if Fergie would sign him. In 2007-08 the Rooney-Tevez-Ronaldo partnership produced what Barcelona did this past season – free flowing, attacking football capable of winning the Champions League.
He has the quality; Manchester United have the money. The reported £80 million gives Manchester United enough money to buy fantastic replacements. Carlos Teves costs £25 million, leaving United £55 million to buy a winger, pay off some debts, and probably buy a small island nation.
Where else will United find a striker like Tevez for £25 million? The mystery man would need to be physically tough, willing to come back and defend, and have a host of other not-so-obvious traits, some of which I mentioned above. Scoring important goals is one. Others include injecting energy into the rest of the team, winning over the fans, as well as complaining very little (up until the end of the season for Tevez) about lack of playing time.
David Villa will be sold by a financially weak Valencia, but he has stated his desire to stay in Spain. Alexandre Pato might leave Milan for the right price and has the pace, but might not be physical enough for the EPL. Eto’o might leave Barcelona, but after this prolific season might cost more than £25 million.
Another option is Klaas-Jan Huntelaar of Real Madrid, who probably will see a lot less playing time. The van Nistelrooy-lite had a good opening few months after his winter trade but faded with the rest of Madrid at the end of the season. He might be revitalized in the new Florentino Perez-era, but is he galactico enough for Madrid? I doubt it. Additionally, Madrid now have at least 5 forwards, not including members of the youth team. Clearly someone is leaving, and £25 million might be the right price for Huntelaar.
There are still no guarantees that he would fit with either United or the Prem however, and he certainly doesn’t bring the same qualities that Tevez does and that Ronaldo is taking with him. He does provide a start though, and with the inclusion of a tricky, creative, attacking player such as Ribery, United might go some way to recaputring the glory of 2008.
