Tevez Rejection A Blessing For United
So that's another saga finally over.
It appears that Manchester United did their utmost to keep Carlos Tevez at Old Trafford, but his departure - even if it is to a hated rival - could well be a blessing for Alex Ferguson.
Tevez is an excellent player, that much is obvious to anyone, but he is not the player that his popularity with United fans suggests.
It's a classic British case of valuing work rate over genuine class. That the vast majority of United fans favour Tevez over Dimitar Berbatov - a man whose languid style can be infuriating, but whose skill is undeniable - proves this.
It's far from ideal that United will have to replace two of their main four forwards this summer, compounded by the fact that they probably had to buy two players to replace Cristiano Ronaldo anyway.
However, the probability is that, by rejecting their five-year contract offer in favour of more football or more money (depending on your point of view), Tevez could well have done United a favour.
United confirmed they agreed to pay £25.5million for the permanent rights for Tevez, which added to the loan fees they already shelled out over the last two years, means the Argentine would probably have ended up costing them around £35million.
That's a huge amount for a man who runs around a lot, but often doesn't produce the sort of quality demanded by the Premier League champions. There's a reason why Ferguson didn't trust Tevez enough to use him in most of the really big games last season.
United already have plenty of industry. Wayne Rooney plays a similar role to Tevez but with more flexibility, while the likes of Darren Fletcher, Owen Hargreaves (when/if he gets fit) and Park Ji-Sung will do all the running.
What United need is flair. Genuinely exciting players who can carve the best teams apart in the way that Ronaldo did. Alex Ferguson can now use the money to put towards the seemingly inevitable signing of Luis Antonio Valencia, who while his current talent has perhaps been over-stated, can mature from promise to class in the same way Ronaldo did. There's no guarantee that he will ever reach that sort of level, but there's no better place to try than United.
It also frees up cash to pursue a genuinely penetrative striker like Karim Benzema, a class winger like David Silva, or perhaps other promising youngster like Douglas Costa of Gremio.
Even outside bets like Franck Ribery (he might prove too expensive), or even Aaron Lennon (he's improving under Harry Redknapp, so imagine how he'd do under Ferguson) would perhaps be better bets for United's cash than Tevez.
With any other manager you might think that they will panic, but despite the transfer mistakes Ferguson has made down the years, one suspects he will spend United's money wisely.
It might feel like a rejection now, but United should really consider this a relief.
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