The Question: Should Liverpool Sign Carlos Tevez From Manchester United?

Just like Christmas starting in November, the annual media rumour-mill kicks off its summer season in mid-May with the usual speculative saturation of any headline they can get their hands on. The big story at the moment is Manchester United favourite Carlos Tevez.

According to the papers and the bookmakers—if Tevez does not stay at his current club—Liverpool are the front runners to sign the reportedly unhappy Argentinian. There is also the possibility of a contentious switch to Manchester United's inner-city rivals, Man City—with an outside chance for La Liga giants, Real Madrid to sneak in hijack the transfer.

But if Carlos Tevez decides to continue plying his trade in the English league; Is Liverpool the right club for the Media Sports Investments owned player, and do the Anfield outfit actually need him?

There are many Liverpool supporters who are clearly delighted at the prospect of seeing Carlos Tevez switching allegiances in the summer—albeit just to stick two fingers up at their East Lancashire rivals who consider Tevez a huge fan favourite—but there are some Kopites who believe, for many different reasons, he wont be signed, with some claiming he simply shouldn't join the club at all.

Do Liverpool have the money?

Economic downturn or not, there will still be some money in the transfer kitty from the American owners and there is certainly scope for some fringe players to be moved on to raise funds. Players like Pennant, Voronin, and Itandje will no doubt be shipped out with the hope by some that others like Dossena and Lucas will be cashed in on aswell.

There is the fear that because Liverpool normally have to raise funds by selling players that the team could possibly lose Xabi Alonso this summer. Many supporters saw the Introduction of a much needed Gareth Barry to the side last season leading to the exit of a favourite in Alonso. It appears the same fears are being raised again this year if Carlos Tevez and his substantial transfer fee would join in the Summer aswell as Gareth Barry at a much less fee than the £18 million reported last season.

An impressive season from Alonso has meant that supporters are even more adamant that he must stay at all costs and money should defiantly be raised from elsewhere. It is a stronger possibility now than it was last summer—after a couple of poor seasons from Alonso up to that point—that Rafa will not move his fellow countryman on and instead could look at other options like Ryan Babel or Andrea Dossena.

If Benitez does identify Carlos Tevez as an integral player to help Liverpool across the line and lift the Premier League trophy next season, then many will consider the hefty price-tag to be worth every penny. If the team does only need very minor tweaking in one or two areas then Liverpool are certainly perfectly within their means if they want to secure the signature of the Argentinian, said to be worth between £24-30 million.

Despite averaging around £40 million on transfers over the last few years, Rafa Benitez has had to be shrewd in the market and raise some of that outgoing by selling on players to increase his ability to spend in the market. But as the Spaniard nears completion of the squad rebuilding program that has needed massive overhauls in most departments on the field—upgrading players slowly season by season—he did previously have to spend his budget on several players in each window to achieve this model.

Is Rafa Benitez now at a stage where he can finally afford to spend £25-30 million on one player in order to add that much needed top-end quality to the depth the team lacks?

There is of course the worry that spending so much money on a player will become a negative purchase due to Carlos' desire to return to Argentina when he is around 29. This would mean Liverpool could have spent a rumoured £30 million on a player that would possibly not want to renew his contract in four years time. The resale value for the club would diminish considerably if they could not get him to extend his contract before he leaves on a Bosman free.

Another major stumbling block for some supporters to accept would be the wages that Tevez would expect. It is rumoured that he is already on £100,000 a week at United and there is talk that he would look to increase that figure if he signs for a new club. Something that would  lead to another £25 million over the next four seasons on top of the substantial transfer fee already paid out to his third-party owners Media Sports Investments for the privelage to buy him outright.

However, if Liverpool are serious about buying that extra quality needed to compete with the depth of Manchester United, they will be expected to pay wages of such magnitude to top-drawer players or they will have to persist with lesser quality options who would require a smaller salary.

Many supporters—Liverpool and United alike—believe that despite Carlos being a good player with heart and passion who can certainly add quality to the squad; there are other players around who are better value for the £30 million it could cost to purchase him from M.S.I.

David Villa, Samuel Eto, Karim Benzema, and Sergio Aguero are names offered up by both sets of supporters as players, for possibly the same transfer fee, who would be a much better option in terms of quality, technique, finishing, and more importantly value for money.

The funds are certainly there for Liverpool to buy Carlos Tevez, but would it be a wise purchase?

Where would he fit in to the formation?

Liverpool supporters have become accustomed to Rafa's 4-2-3-1 formation over the last few seasons and many have asked if Carlos Tevez would be able to fit in to this set-up without upsetting the applecart too much. Many pundits claim Tevez plays his best football as a support striker, however this would mean that if Tevez played in his favoured position it would be at the expense of Steven Gerrard.

Tevez has been used as a wide midfielder/attacker at United in a 4-3-3 formation and has shown he can be affective in that position. However, this has been mostly out on the right with Wayne Rooney on the left, so if Tevez was to be used in a Liverpool formation it would suggest it would be at the expense of Albert Reira on the left due to Rafa's admiration of Dirk Kuyt on the right.

There is of course the extra option of having a player like Carlos Tevez who can play in a few different positions when needed. Tevez would have been invaluable for Liverpool this season when Fernando Torres or Steven Gerrard were injured as the Argentinian would have fitted straight into either position comfortably.

Rafa Benitez certainly loves having options when facing the opposition and he likes adaptable players who can play in more than one position when needed. Carlos Tevez appears to fit this bill to a certain extent with the added extra of an incredible work-rate from the United player, it would seem a favoured option for Benitez.

It does of course throw-up the possibility of a 4-4-2 system with Torres and Tevez playing off of each other upfront, Steven Gerrard or Xabi Alonso spearheading midfield with Mascherano holding, and any number of choices for the wings from the remaining options available.

When players are rested then, in theory, Carlos Tevez should be able to play anywhere across the attacking line in place of Torres, Kuyt, Gerrard, and Reira, albeit, not as effectively in every place. There is of course the question of Tevez not being happy playing in his preferred position week-in week-out; but he appeared ok with this in his first season with Manchester United.

One of Tevez' main issues with his second year at United was not being considered one of the first or second choice strikers, and he found himself playing a bit-part role behind Dimitar Berbatov for most of the season. With the World Cup fast approaching it is obvious Carlos Tevez would want regular first team football to ensure his starting place with his national team, and there doesn't appear to be many players in his way at Liverpool like there was at Manchester United.

But that could be because there are not as many expensive world-class players in the Liverpool line-up like there is at United, who can boast nearly £100 million in attacking prowess when Rooney, Ronaldo, Berbatov, and Tevez all start. The four strikers together on the pitch is something that would be very hard to achieve in every single game, so it seems inevitable that some players will make way more often than others in the United line-up in the battle for places.

This season it has been Carlos Tevez.

It was habitual for people to attack Rafa Benitez over the last few seasons for an apparent constant rotation of players from game to game. But with Alex Ferguson not starting with the same team, two games in a row at any point this season, Tevez has found himself without the ability to get a good run in the side he had hoped for to aid with his performances. Benitez has seen a more settled approach to his team selection and there is definatly scope for Carlos Tevez to get more games at Liverpool.

What about his attitude?

Looking through some of the fan websites and forums it appears the general census is that the majority of supporters on both sides would welcome Carlos Tevez to their side on a permanent basis with open-arms. It simply appears that many believe the reported transfer fee of around £30 million is far too much for the Argentinian. Only a very small amount of people doubt his quality as a player and what he could bring to either club—claiming he is very over-hyped—with many stating a huge desire for their respective clubs to snap him up immediately.

People have mentioned his attitude off of the field to be a dubious one because he has changed his mind several times when laying down his allegiances to a "dream" club reportedly showing interest. He appears to have chosen money and success over anything else to some people, but there are few who would do things differently in his shoes.

More importantly, Tevez has always stayed consistent in his love of Boca Juniors and his desire to return there near the end of his career. So now would be a good time for Tevez to travel Europe and experience football in different leagues and at different big name clubs to make him a better all-round player.

What cannot be argued with is Carlos Tevez's comments about how he has been unfairly treated and disrespected by Alex Ferguson and Manchester United, especially at such a crucial point of the season for the club. With the final stages of the Premier League still unsettled at the time and a Champions League final against Barcelona a short space away, Tevez appears to have used the media to manipulate the situation in his favour it would appear.

However, many supporters will ignore this behaviour and focus on his attitude on the field, which is considered by many supporters—from Boca Juniors, Corinthians, West Ham, Manchester United and many more nuetrals—as incredibly hardworking and passionate. As long as he commits himself on the pitch professionally and with heart and desire to win, it will not matter to many fans if he plays for money or for love of the club.

Where ever Carlos Tevez and his owners decide they want to play next season, it will no doubt be surrounded by an intense following from the football world, and which ever club is lucky enough to win his signature; they should consider themselves very lucky indeed.

Even if it means stumping up £30 million.