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.
Good point. I’d sign Tevez on as well I don’t think his signing is any more crucial than it was before he’s a good player but not irreplacable.
I think sign Tevez and bring in Benzema.
Then the rest of the transer money pot to the midfield. Ribery and Valencia would be nice.
Tevez has the first touch of the Yorkshire Ripper. Let him go FFS.
HAHAHA Bruce… I agree, love Tevez’s work rate but his touch and finishing are terrible. I think we have a ready-made replacement for Tevez in Park – he’s the same player, probably a little bit faster but missing some of the muscle.
As I see it, United need a true striker/ poacher and some crativity in the midfield:
Striker / Poacher: The reason we don’t have one already is because there aren’t many “true strikers” out there right now. Berba was supposed to be the guy, but he looks disinterested hald the time and he didn’t finish like he did for Spurs in 2007. Will he be better next year? Are any of the youngsters like Manucho, Macheda or Wellbeck ready to step up? Do you take a flyer on a Benzema or a Huntelaar and hope that they pan out better? Or, do you break the bank and go after a proven goalscorer like Eto or David Villa instead?
Midfield: Is Nani ready to step into CR’s shoes? He didn’t knock my socks off when I saw him in there, but he showed flashes and he hasn’t seen much playing time. I love Ribery, but he’s not worth £65m. Would you really swap CR7 for Ribery and £15m? There are plenty of wingers out there, but I don’t know who we could pick up that would be an improvement over Nani. Would Valencia play as well if he were one cog in the wheel rather than the go-to guy for a second-tier team?
I think you’re going to see United sign Tevez.
Benzema/Villa and Ribery are also probably coming in.
Id say for sure that Man U will go after Ribery.
Unfortunately, all three (Ribery, Benzema and Villa) have already stated that they have no interest in playing in England – Ribery might be swayed by his buddy Evra, but we’ll have to wait and see.
I still don’t think Ribery is worth the £65m though…
My guess?
Ribery to Barca, Villa to Real Madrid, and Benzema stays put again.
Huntelaar?? Are you kidding? Dont get me wrong.. am a big fan of that guy.. but, 25m?? insane, i would say. He is good but he has yet to prove it. But, when you think Benzema thats not the case.. he has proven that he can do it against any team. and he is the right kind of player united need right now but only if tevez is leaving (which i think he will). And as for the midfield i think nani might leav this summer if that is the scenario then bring in both valencia and ribery would be more than enough otherwise just Ribery will be fine.
What united need now is to regain their stability as a team. Ronaldo was one in a million kind of a player and was a typical example for a player on field, but one thing he didnot have much of was the team spirit. He was often very selfish. Just the opposite of Rooney or Tevez. So bringing in pace and creativity into midfield who can set up Rooney and others up front will be the key for the next season. I can assure you that Ferguson will try for Ribery within the next two weeks.
Ribery and Benzema are apparently interested in united and they say that Valencia sleeps at night wearing a ManU jersey…
I’d rather have Benzema then Tevez, but I doubt he will come to Old Trafford. Until then, I think Tevez needs to be resigned.
I completely agree. Tevez is a world class player with superb qualities. He belongs at the top club, Manchester United. No where else, especially City, or Liverpool.
i think utd must sing tevez and give nani lots of game to play.
I thinhk it is better for tevez to out manu,and join city.So we can see the great play of tevez.tevez kee jai