Carlos Tevez: Is the Third-Choice Striker Worth £32 Million?

Carlos Tevez reportedly spoke out yesterday at his continued frustration over his failure to secure a permanent deal with Manchester United. 

The Argentinean has only six months left on a two-year loan deal to the current World Club Cup Champions. He is apparently attempting to finally force the issue with regards to a long term contract by stating that he would be willing to sign elsewhere if it were offered.

The fact that his rights are owned by Media Sports Investments rather than another club arguably makes the deal a trickier one. United appear happy to bide their time with the hope that no club comes in for Tevez, or at least not with an offer anywhere near the proposed £32m. Then come the summer United would in theory be able to negotiate a deal for a lesser sum. 

This would be a risky game to play though, especially with the blank cheque book of their Manchester-based rivals lurking in the background. The blue half of Manchester ay force another scenario similar to the last transfer window when United were forced to pay more than they wanted to secure Dimitar Berbatov thanks to late bidding from their newly wealthy neighbours.

The prospect of United shelling out £30m+ on another striker after the acquisition of Berbatov in September is slim, especially as it’s undeniably a huge price for a player who is not even part of Ferguson’s first choice team any more.  This is demonstrated by the fact he’s unlikely to be selected against Chelsea on Sunday.

The statistics are telling as well. Last season he appeared in 34 of 38 Premier League games, averaging 79 minutes per appearance.  This term it’s an altogether different story. Of United’s 18 Premier League games so far Tevez has only started eight, with five further appearances from the bench. 

He has completed the full ninety minutes on only four occasions so far as he is averaging only 59 minutes per outing, well down from last season. In comparison Rooney and Berbatov are averaging 78 and 87 minutes per selection. It’s not hard to see who’s third choice…

Despite the lack of playing time in comparison to last season his scoring ratio remains at a similar level, but the worry will be that five of his eight goals thus far have come in the Carling Cup.

It has been widely reported that United have been paying a fee of £4m a year for Tevez’s current loan and that this would count towards the £32m fee for a full-time deal.  However, this would still leave a balance of £24m to be paid. Could United justify such an expenditure on a third choice forward?

Should they risk losing him to a rival club, be it a Champions League competitor or their cross town rivals?

Let me know whether you think he’s worth the money, or whether you even think it’s worth him staying if he’s no longer a guaranteed member of the first team.