Carlos Tevez: Which Team Will Take Him in the January Transfer Window?

Carlos Tevez is the center of the storm since he refused to participate (or warm up) for the crucial Manchester City match against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on September 27, 2011.

The refusal to play or even warm up cost Manchester City the match and Tevez lost what little support he had among the fans.

Roberto Mancini (Manchester City manager) stated that Tevez was never going to play again. The club fined Tevez $1.6 Million for his insubordination.

The Premier League coaches rushed to defend Mancini and the Professional Footballers' Association defended Tevez. The response of Tevez was to board a flight to Argentina on November 7 2011 without permission from Manchester City.

The Professional Footballers' Association warned that Tevez could be suspended if he cannot justify his absence. The response of Tevez was to play golf with Andres Romero (one of Argentina's golf greats).

While the Tevez saga is unfolding, a decision was made to have a roundtable discussion concerning what will happen. I invited David Hendrick, Will Tidey, Mohammed Al-Hendy, Vincent Siu and Alan Jiang to this end-of-the-year roundtable discussion about Tevez.

An invitation is extended to the BlR Readers to enjoy the slideshow and the roundtable discussion.

David Hendrick: Tevez to Liverpool

I think there's a couple of possibilities for Tevez. The most obvious and well reported rumours concern a return to South America but I honestly don't see that happening.

I think Tevez will stay in Europe now that his family have moved back to the UK. I really see only a couple of realistic landing spots for him. If he stays in England, Liverpool makes the most sense.

The Reds are desperate for a partner for Luis Suarez because Andy Carroll simply isn't good enough and doesn't blend well with Suarez. Tevez has the perfect style to pair up with Suarez and it's a partnership that would be a nightmare for Premier League defences to try and cope with.

A loan deal with an option to buy would make the most sense in January as Liverpool are unlikely to want to spend the £30 million it will likely cost to secure him on a permanent deal without first testing the waters. His issues at City have really blotted his copybook but in my opinion they are as much City's fault as his own.

He should have been sold when he asked to go in the summer, but City priced him out of a move. That doesn't excuse his actions since then but they do go along way towards explaining them.

The incident in Munich, I believe, was blown way out of proportion by Mancini and I feel that was a considered move on his part to try and get the fans behind him, and cast Tevez in a bad light. Since the incident, which I must point out was not what it was made out to be, the fans have been behind Mancini far more than they ever were before.

Tevez refused to warm up, he did not refuse to play. He wasn't told to warm up because he was going on, he was simply told to warm up. Nobody on the City bench backed Mancini's story but by the time the hearing was held with the club, the fans had gotten behind Mancini so his claims had the desired effect.

For me, that incident shouldn't even be considered by a new club. What should be considered is Tevez's record. He's a proven winner who's brought success to every club he's played for, with the sole exception of West Ham who he singlehandedly saved from relegation. He's also a proven goalscorer in the Premier League.

That's exactly what Liverpool need. He's only 27, so he's just entering his prime years and given the career he's had to date, those could be some special years. For Tevez's part, each of the last three times he has moved he's been linked with Liverpool and before he joined Manchester United he was quoted as saying that Liverpool was the club he wanted to play for. Other possible landing spots for him are Inter Milan, and possibly Juventus. He'd be a good fit at Inter alongside Pazzini and Zarate.

Whether or not Inter have the money to buy him or not is another matter. Perhaps if Wesley Sneijder is sold they might use that money to fund a move for Tevez. Inter have major issues right now though; the team is a mess, their manager seems clueless and you'd have to wonder is such an unsettled atmosphere really the best place for Tevez.

Juve on the other hand will be top of the league if they win their game in hand and seem to have settled well into life under their new manager Antonio Conte. They do need more firepower so Tevez would make a lot of sense for them.

Money again might be an issue, but there have been some rumours that Mirko Vucinic might leave in January. I think Vucinic and Tevez would make a great pairing though, so if Juve are looking to move a striker to boost their coffers, they'd be better off selling someone else.

So those would be the three most likely landing spots in my opinion, unless of course Anzhi or some team from the Middle East sticks their oar in and offers silly money. If I was pressed to pick just one club for Tevez to go to, it would be Liverpool.

Will Tidey: South America This January or Manchester City Until Next Summer

My best guess is that Carlos Tevez will patch up his differences with Manchester City in the coming few weeks and stay at the club until next summer.

At that point, I think he'll go and play for Inter Milan. For anything to happen in January it would have to be a South American club, because a Champions League team wouldn't be able to field him in the knock-out stages, due to his involvement with City in the tournament.

Mohammed Al-Hendy: Juventus in January

Although nearly every team in Europe is being linked with Carlos Tevez at this point, I think there are only two possible destinations for Tevez come January: Juventus or Corinthians. If I had to pick one team to bet on, it would be Juventus.

Though Manchester City have sent their strikers to other teams in the EPL in the past, Roberto Mancini and co. will be much more reluctant to offload Tevez to a Champions League contender, knowing that Tevez is presently a significantly more dangerous striker than either Emmanuel Adebayor or Craig Bellamy. So that should eliminate the possibility of a move within England materializing.

Spain is also out of the question, as Jose Mourinho has stated that Real Madrid will be buying no one in January and that a third striker is not needed for his team. Barcelona also have no need for another striker, especially not a trouble-making one like Carlos Tevez.  He would be comfortable with fellow internationals Javier Mascherano and Lionel Messi at his side, but there have been absolutely no rumors of a possible move to Barca for Tevez so I highly doubt a move will come about.

Moving along, very few Argentinians move to the Bundesliga, and only Bayern Munich have the funds to afford Carlos Tevez's wages and transfer fee, so we can move beyond them as well.

That leaves the Serie A. AC Milan are stacked in the striker department, and don't have the funds to congest their squad with pointless extra star power. They will focus their funds on signing a quality midfielder in January. Inter Milan were greatly interested in acquiring Carlos Tevez in the summer, but the plethora of strikers signed instead of him may deter Massimo Moratti from pursuing a move. Inter Milan are still a very real possible destination for Carlos Tevez, just not my No. 1 pick considering their recent financial struggles.

That leaves Juventus. Despite the endless number of striker clogging up the bench at Juventus, Juventus still appear to be lacking a bit of a cutting edge, as neither Alessandro Matri nor Mirko Vucinic have found the back of the net with consistent regularity. Purchasing Tevez could be the move that takes Juventus from title contenders to title favorites, and such a move may be enough for Juve to pass over Carlos Tevez's previous indiscipline.

I mentioned Corinthians because if they are interested, I would assume that they would be Carlos Tevez's preferred destination, since his present situation was created from his constant complaining about wanting to return home. The marketing director at Corinthians recently spoke out against a move for Tevez though, so I'm skeptical that a bid will come from the Brazilian club in January.

As always though, in football, anything is possible.

Vincent Siu: Anzhi Makhachkala or Real Madrid

Well, I probably have the worst knack for predicting transfers, but I'm definitely going to chip in on this fun debate!

As a Liverpool fan, despite Tevez's behavioral track record, I would be over the moon if Tevez came to Anfield, but that move would be less likely than Andy Carroll hitting a hat trick against City.

There have been shouts from the Tottenham camp, especially a few weeks ago from Harry Redknapp, about a Tevez move to the capital, and that wouldn't surprise me. Inter Milan also strikes me as a possible destination for some unknown reason.

But for my two actual predictions, I'll stick my neck out and go for the mega-rich Russians, Anzhi Makhachkala, and Real Madrid.

While a couple of early season substitute showings should never be conclusive about a player's form and ability, Tevez seemed a lot more sluggish and just generally physically unfit (see: overweight) in a few City sub appearances early on this season. Is he in decline already? Either way, just as Anzhi approached Samuel Eto'o with a mouth-watering paycheck, I wouldn't be surprised if, come February, Tevez is holding a No. 32 Anzhi shirt waxing lyrical about their fascinating "project."

I also somehow associate Tevez with Real Madrid, maybe because I seem to recall a few rumors linking him with them. This might be all the more possible considering how many reports we seem to hear about Gonzalo Higuain and Karin Benzema not being 100 percent happy at the Bernabeu.

Allan Jiang: Tevez Is Finished

I recall listening to Tim Vickery’s analysis on Hawksbee and Jacobs where he essentially said happiness is wherever Carlos Tévez isn’t.

The problem with clubs signing Tévez is that he will be unhappy. 

At Boca Juniors, he couldn’t wait to leave because the media were covering his life 24-7.

At Corinthians, he got into a fight with Marquinhos and constantly argued with Carlos Alberto and Dinelson.

At West Ham United, Tévez was fed up with warming the benches and I remember him walking out of a game against Sheffield United.

At Manchester United, he believed he wasn’t valued enough and wanted to leave.

Yet at Manchester City where he was the man, he still wanted to leave.

This is his history and clubs have to be aware of this.

I think if Tévez is honest about returning to Argentina than only South American clubs are in the picture.

Boca Juniors cannot afford him and Corinthians have to conjure up the money.

Has anyone contemplated about Manchester City terminating Tévez’s contract? 

Roberto Alvarez-Galloso: Tevez Is Finished Part II

I am going to answer the question put forth by Allan Jiang. Carlos Tevez may face the threat of another suspension according to the Professional Footballers' Association.

After the last chapter of the saga, no club will want a player whose behavior off the field does not accompany the talent. Corinthians, Boca, and other clubs who would have accpeted him will avoid him.

Diego Armando Maradona (Al Wasl team of the United Arab Emirates) does not want Tevez citing expenses. My reasoning is that Maradona knows how much trouble Tevez is going to be for Al Wasl.

Tevez has no one to blame but himself for creating the problem and making it worse. The best thing that could happen is the expulsion of Tevez from world football.

Tevez has had too many breaks in his life that he did not deserve. I would like to thank David Hendrick, Will Tidey, Mohammed Al-Hendy, Vincent Siu, and Allan Jiang for their participation in the roundtable discussion of the future of Tevez.

I also want to thank the readers of Bleacher Report for their time in reading this roundtable discussion.