January Transfer Window: Carlos Tevez and the Top 9 Teams That Will Pursue Him

In case you've been living under a rock, Roberto Mancini recently told Carlos Tevez that he'd never play for Manchester City again after the Argentine refused to come on as a substitute against Bayern Munich.

So after lots of summer speculation but subsequently no transfer, it now seems inevitable that Tevez will have to join another club during the January transfer window.

The former Manchester City skipper was valued at £50 million pounds by Mancini during the summer, but after the player's constant controversy and homesickness, City will have to ask for a significantly smaller amount.

The thing is, Carlos Tevez happens to be an excellent player. He's one of the best in the world with a dead ball, he's capable of scoring over 20 goals a season and is a fine captain as well. However, his attitude and personality make him quite a gamble.

Either way, here are six clubs that will surely be pursuing the Argentine during the January Transfer Window. 

Inter Milan

After offloading Samuel Eto'o to big spenders Anzhi Makhachkala during the summer, Inter now find themselves in need of a prolific striker.

Although the Milan outfit already have four reliable forwards in Giampaolo Pazzini, Diego Forlan, Diego Milito and Mauro Zárate, Inter still aren't convinced that any of those four forwards can replicate the form of their much beloved Eto'o.

The Italian powerhouses were very close to signing Tevez during the summer, so now that the Manchester City forward's price tag is reduced, Inter will be convinced that they're the front-runners to grab his signature.

Arsenal

Although Carlos Tevez seems like the opposite of an "Arsene Wenger signing," rumours have continued to link the Argentine to the Emirates.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure why. Maybe the press thinks Wenger will try to make a big signing to show he means business, or maybe Tevez is a potential replacement for Robin Van Persie if the Dutchman decides to leave Arsenal.

Either way, Wenger could surely think of a lot of other, better ways to spend the money that he'd spend on Tevez.

Nonetheless, I can't help but see Arsenal being one of the clubs going after Tevez during January if the right deal comes along.

Real Madrid

With Cristiano Ronaldo, to some the best player in the world; Karim Benzema, arguably the best French forward in the world; and Gonzalo Higuaín, a prolific world class forward, you'd think Real Madrid have enough attacking firepower for Jose Mourinho's liking.

This trio scored a whopping 92 goals (yes, 92 goals) between them last season in all competitions. Ronaldo netted a whopping 53, Benzema (who was apparently out of form) scored 26 and Higuaín, who missed most of the season due to injury, hit the back of the net 13 times.

But Jose Mourinho won't settle until he can achieve his ultimate goal: beating Barcelona.

So signing Carlos Tevez in January could be Mourinho's next step in an attempt to turn the tables of "El Clássico." Tevez could finally settle with his family in Madrid, as he'll be able to drop his horrendous English and speak his natural language of Spanish. As well as this, the Argentine seems like a player who would flourish in La Liga with his quick dribbling abilities and ferocious shot.

Out of all the candidates to sign Tevez, Real Madrid seem the most likely.

Corinthians

There he is. A complaint-free Tevez back in South America, his comfort zone.

As well as Inter, another club that was very close to signing Tevez this summer was the Argentine's former team: Corinthians.

At one point, it seemed as if the Brazilian outfit and Manchester City had agreed on a £35-40 million pound deal—but in the end the move broke down as City thought their skipper was worth more.

However, with Tevez's price tag significantly reduced, Corinthians will be renewing their interest in the 27-year-old and are apparently preparing a fresh bid for him in the January transfer window.

Although Corinthians may not have as much money to offer as Real Madrid or Inter, Tevez's preferred destination will surely be back home in South America.

Boca Juniors

Before it was Corinthians, there was Boca Juniors.

The Argentinian outfit was Carlos Tevez' original club, and over the years it probably still remains as his favourite.

There was some speculation about Boca signing Tevez this summer, but it never really amounted to anything and went away fairly quickly. Nevertheless, don't write them off to sign him in the January Transfer Window. They could very well bring their former player back home, and I wouldn't be surprised if Tevez played his best football back home in Argentina with his boyhood club Boca Juniors.

LA Galaxy

Apparently, David Beckham could be playing football in Europe once again, and if you'd ever believe it he could even be back in the motherland as soon as January.

The 36-year-old has been targeted by both Queens Park Rangers and Paris Saint-Germain, two clubs that splashed the cash in the summer transfer window.

While QPR don't have the luxury of hundreds of millions of pounds to spend, PSG do. The Parisian outfit have been the latest club to be bought out by Qatari billionaires, and have already been labelled as the Manchester City of France.

So if Beckham does depart LA Galaxy to one of these European clubs, it leaves the Californian powerhouses (that somehow doesn't sound right) without one of their designated players, or whatever the weird American MLS system calls it.

So if Galaxy dn't have a star player and Tevez doesn't have a club to score goals for...

Put two and two together.

Paris Saint-Germain

Speaking of Paris Saint-Germain, the big-spending French outfit are yet another candidate to grap Tevez's signature in January.

Like I mentioned before, the club was bought out by Qatari businessmen and now have, well, all the transfer funds they'll need for a long time. During the summer PSG made a number of big transfers, including Kevin Gameiro and Javier Pastore, two bright young prospects.

Although Gameiro does prove to be a solid option up front, PSG will be looking to increase their attacking options, and they displayed this when they came close to signing Dimitar Berbatov in the summer.

It could very well be Berbatov or Beckham that the mega-rich Parisians sign, but Tevez is also a likely option.

These guys have the money for Tevez, it's just about whether they pick him as the player they want.

Málaga CF

It seems like every league has its own Qatari-owned billionaire club.

Well, Málaga CF is the La Liga one. This summer, the Spanish outfit splashed their Qatari cash on Santi Cazorla, Julio Baptista, Jérémy Toulalan and Ruud Van Nistelrooy, all shrewd signings, except for the latter (don't know what they were thinking there).

They've made it clear that they're gunning to overthrow Barcelona and Real Madrid for La Liga's top spot, and buying Carlos Tevez in January would be their best buy yet if they really do mean business.

Al Wasl

Two words: Diego Maradona.

The Argentine legend was recently put in charge of United Arab Emirates outfit Al Wasl, and recently stated that he wants to make a move for former Argentine Carlos Tevez in the January Transfer Window.

He later dismissed that statement, saying that he changed his mind about Tevez.

But you never know with Diego Maradona.

Really, you never know.