Why Tevez?

With Manchester United looking for a speedy resolution to the deal to bring Carlos Tevez to Old Trafford, a lot of people are wondering whether or not he is the right player to take United forward. Forgetting all the controversies, the past, the dodgy legal issues, and concentrating on the player alone, why are United so keen to add him to their squad?

Since the departure of the prolific Ruud van Nistelrooy United have been on the prowl for a proven forward to add to their squad, someone to partner Rooney. Saha has done a good job in patches but remains fragile and injury prone, while Solskjaer has had to make do with fleeting appearances. The thought was that Sir Alex would move for an out and out forward, like Ruud, with Rooney playing off him. Players like Torres, Eto'o and even Michael Owen have been mentioned. These players all fit the mould of the type of player that United where thought to be looking for. Yet United have moved for Tevez.

From the outside Tevez seems more alike to Rooney than to an out and out striker and does not seem like the ideal fit for a strike partner to Rooney, yet the amount of money being talked about, in terms of both a loan deal or a permanent switch, suggests that Tevez is the real deal, the player that United have been after, and not someone that they are looking at now that Eto'o seems to be staying at Barca, and Torres has moved to Liverpool.

United will probably look at a change in formation, particularly in Europe, to a 4-3-2-1 with Rooney at the apex of an attacking trio, supported by Tevez to his left and Ronaldo to his right. The pressure will be off Rooney as he will be given a definite role, as the most forward player, and will not have to drop back as much as he has been doing, he will also have the support of Tevez and Ronaldo and will not be playing an isolated role up field. This role should help him bag more goals, a criticism he has unfairly suffered from in the past, his lack of goals at certain periods of a season, should be addressed. The position of a shielding midfielder, Owen Hargreaves, is fundamental to the success of this formation, however it is the choice of Tevez to play a supporting role that is the exciting aspect.

Tevez showed during the last 6 months of the season why he one of the most coveted and exciting players in world football at the moment. He almost single handed, much to Sheff Utd's disgust, saved West Ham from relegation. The thought of him playing with better players week in and week out, of not having the pressure of being the teams only leading man, may leave United fans salivating and opposition defenses trembling. Tevez will bring a spark of creativity and unorthodox play that United have been missing. Scholes, for so long the creative genius in the United midfield has found himself playing deeper over the last few years, both with the onset of age and the responsibility's that come with not having Roy Keane next to him. As such he has not been as creative an influence as he could have been. Tevez will bring this missing ingredient to the winning recipe that Sir Alex hopes to cook up in Europe next year. United have been dreadfully goal shy on the road in the Champions League and this is where Tevez could be at his most useful, as both a goal scorer and a creator. During his spell at Corinthians Tevez showed he could be a prolific goal scorer with 25 goals in 38 games. United will hope to see more of the same.

Wayne Rooney, and particularly Christiano Ronaldo, have had the pressure of winning games for United on their young shoulders, and should the Tevez deal finally go through, they will have another super star to take the pressure off them and allow them to mesmerize defenses all over Europe. It should be a treat for the eye.