Martin Samuel's Debate: Is Carlos Tevez a snip at £32 million?

To read Martin Samuel's column from TheGame in its entirety, click here

With the arrival of Dimitar Berbatov and the return to fitness of Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tévez, the Manchester United striker, will not be given as many opportunities to start matches. At the end of this season his two-year loan deal — although who is he on loan from, nobody seems to know — will expire. At which point, United must pay £32 million to sign the Argentina forward permanently. Does that not seem like rather a lot of money for a reserve, even such a talented one?

DEBATE: Would you pay £32 million for Carlos Tévez?

Comments

If he costs £32m to buy, then it must be cost Man U much more than his wage when loaning him, for them to consider buying him.
If they continue to loan him, whilst they wont be able to sell him on, they can get rid of him whenever they want.

[kenneth grisom]

frankly speakin i i share the same opinion with whoever feels Carlito can be worth £32m

He has been a fantastic player for Man Utd and i dont see any reason why they should doubt the price,.Is it the arrival of Berbatov,.? probably yes.! Innitially Utd got into this agreement knowin tha £32m i too much more-so-that the british record had not been beaten,.so why back down.,?

Utd should know the devil you know is better than the angel you dnt knw so they shouldnt be assume Berbatov would be their only savour,.

i also hav to agree with one who said it would be a very wrong movd for Utd to let go of Tevez cause of the arrival of Berbatov,

[John M]

Why is nothing ever made of the transfer deal of JAVIER MASCHERANO but the Tevez deal is always put into question? Who 'owns' Mascherano?

[Damian Williamson]

Tevez is never worth 32 million (except to Sheffield United of course hehe), given that another promising striker would be able to fit in to that team and become another truly great player.

He is a great talent, but considering he is owned by an external party who are constantly earning from him without any major costs, his transfer fee is inflated as his owners have much more power.

[ELVATO]

Tevez was the star of last years champions league for M utd. He was incredible against Barca and scored the equaliser against Lyon...

Not sure if Berba will have the same impact on the big matches

[Dave N]

When UTD let Veron, Forlan and other go, you never really looked at them and wished they were still playing for UTD. Even Van Nistelrooy was similar. I get the feeling that if UTD come up against Tevez playing for a Chelsea/Man City/Milan etc we'll be wishing that he had stayed with at Old Trafford. Bare in mind that there's not a lot out there for 32m at the moment that isn't already at a top club and unlikely to move. How much did Spurs pay for Palychenko.
Assuming they do buy him, would that be the most expensive forward line in the world? berba - 32m, Rooney - 29m, tevez - 32m, Ronaldo - 12m (UTD paid)???

[Dan]

Personally I don't believe that Tevez is worth that money. In fact he is one of numerous players who whilst obviously demonstrating great ability, is a player whose status can be in no small part linked to the hype around him, the 'agent' he has and the club he is at.

For the money, a shrewd manager could put together a whole team of players capable of challenging for honours, such as Wenger has done, and whom could field numerous squad permutations capable winning for less than that transfer fee.

Look at Amr Zaki, if Wigan had bought him instead of the current loan deal then they would likely have saved a tremendous amount of money, such has his stock risen.

There are many players worldwide who have the ability to play for Manchester United, and I believe they should not be held to ransom like they do over transfer fees. A sentiment all the more poignant in this age of financial uncertainty which probably has the Glaziers feeling a lot less comfortable than they did when they embarked upon the adventure of acquiring one of the most famous clubs in history

[James Brabbs]

Whilst £32 million pounds is by no means a bargain, I certainly believe it to be a good piece of business. Especially taking into consideration the fact that the price will more than likely include the loan fees already paid.

Being a regular at Old Trafford it is a delight to see such a competitive and hardworking player, with sheer quality to boot. Anyone who saw his performances in pre-season and the Charity Shield will know what I mean.

You say he will be an expensive substitute, but when challenging on 5 fronts this season Manchester United need a large squad of world class talent. Carlos Tevez certainly fits into this bracket.

Finally comparing the market for strikers:

Robbie Keane overrated and overpriced at £20 million.
Roman Pavlachenko ditto at £15million
Darren Bent £18 million, need I say more?

[Paul]

Buy him!!!, I'm a big fan of Boca Juniors (Argentina) any this guy made history there and also in Corinthians (Brasil). No doubts

[Carlos]

Don't worry, Madrid will buy Ronaldo next season and if u don't pay... we'll get tevez too, dosen't matter if he plays or not he's quite good. Let's all say goodbye to Ronaldo!

[Richyales]

Tevez can be really amazing but i dont think he is so exceptional to command a fee so huge.

He does a work so similar to Rooney and for sure converts less chances at goal - CL final a good example.

MUFC will be fine to retain his services but at a negotiated fee.

Berba seems to provide more technical abilities and has to be integrated into the team since he arrived on the last day of the summer transfer. Once an understanding is established, it will make things interesting for Fergie as he will know when and who to call on.

If you would remember, Rooney was told he would have to start from the bench but he came in as a sub at Bolton and he got us a superb goal and since then been on fire.

Tevez needs to take his chances as simple as that. It makes it really interesting when their is great competition in the team. We need to take into the account the wealth of talent that United still has that are latent.. the likes of Campbell, Manucho etc..

United will have to wait till the end of the season to come to a decision - i guess

[Phil]

Quite frankly, yes. He's strong, can finish and works 120% in every game and for every ball. He works for each ball as if it's his last. He's also very popular with the fans and would be a bad move to see him go. I personally prefer Tevez to Berbatov.

[Robert Hillery]

£32M! that is alot for someone who is going to be second choice. As a Man United fan I felt this debate would happen after Berbatov's arrival. Ferguson perhaps shot himself in the foot when he said that he would play Rooney in a central postion and not watse him on the left wing, now Rooney the gem of English football is playing in his best postion Ferguson has a problem. Where does Carlos Tevez fit in? Berbatov looks like he is going to be the focul point of the attack, hence the £31M we spent on him, if United wanted a reserve they should have kept Saha or worked a bit harder like Wigan did and find a Amir Zaki who could do a job form the bench. Ronaldo will occupy the right-wing for this season at least which leaves the only spot on the left. Tevez can't be effective in that postion, nethier can Berbatov so it looks like Rooney will have to continue to do a job there now and then. This means either Tevez or Berbatov will have to sit on the bench now and then because we must also consider Nani, Park and Giggs. They will need games as well! Do a club with massive debts need to spend £32M to have this problem every week of the season when they could nuture someone like Danny Welbeck into the sqaud for free? My answer would be no, as much as I love Carlos, he Dimitar will be fighting it out to partner Wayne! Then what If Ronaldo leaves what then?

[Andrew Lee]

I think Teves would be a good naural replacement for Scholes in the Man U midfield. He is a talented passer and scorer from distance and on the defensive side is a decent tackler. Maybe a step back in to midfield would give him more time on the pitch. £32m would be worth it for such a utility player.

[Jamie Browne]

People are always quick to analyse transfer fees but in all honesty if the club cannot afford the price, then they will not purchase the player. £32 million is clearly a lot of money but for the second richest club in the world it is affordable. Manchester United will have to pay big fees for the best players,that is the way the market works.We need not get carried away with these transfer fees.It is arguable that in fact no footballer is worth that amount of money. It is a team game and as a United fan i am in great admiration for Tevez.As a fan you want to watch the players 100% committed to your team and that is exactly what tevez gives.He is a brilliant team player and tireless worker who does a great job for us. His passion is what the fans want to see as well as quality (which he has got) which is more than i can say about Ronaldo at the moment,seems as though his mind is already thinking of the Madrid sunshine...

[Stephen]

Is it me or has there really been some wrong-doing here?

It seems to me that under present rules Carlos Tevez should no more be playing for Man Utd than he should have been for West Ham!

Is it one rule for one....?

[Harry Boulton]

Without a doubt Tevez would be worth every penny of the £32m fee placed on his head, even if the fee I've heard was £20m, given that we've allegedly already paid £12m in loan fees and wages etc?

The lad is a world class attacking player. Comfortable on the ball, an excellent finisher, great awareness of those around him, he's quick, strong, versatile, a willing worker and he's got experience in the premier league. He was a vital member of our European cup winning side last year. He'll get his chances sooner or later this season and we'll see he's worth the money.

Harry Boulton.

[Antonio]

It seems quite clear that United are not prepared to stump up the cash for Tevez after completely altering the sructure of their forward line for the stature of Dimitar Berbatov. No doubt Ferguson would ike to keep Carlito, but as the rotated player he is likely to be this season and not the focus of the whole project. In all honesty I think United's plan all along was to take the loan deal and not follow through with a permanent transfer.

Surely then, the issue is not whether Carlos Tevez is worth £32m, but whether or not he is worth this sum in the context of Manchester United, as Martin Samuel suggests. That much for someone who will merely be used as squad cover and not a regular starter? That is a luxury that even United may not be able to afford and in finanial terms seems a waste of money considering the lack of use he will get. Surely something is only worth the price paid if you get the most out of it, and United clearly won't.

[Daniel Pettinger]

It is a lot of money, but it would be well worth it because he is not a gamble. You are buying a player who is guaranteed to fit in and work hard, because he already does. To win competitions you need strength and depth and he provides it far better than Saha ever did, and also there are no guarentees that Ronaldo with stay another season. Another summer, another 4 months of speculation. A prudent buy.

[Tomred]

Josh Dickson, Berbatov also showed at Stamford Bridge (and quite often for Spurs last season) that he is just as capable of letting a game pass him by "simply by standing still".

[Steven H]

Shockingly overated player who's reputation feeds off his nationality. An Argentinian striker who works hard and would seemingly die for the cause? It sounds great. Unfortunately, that is not the only thing that seperates Tevez from his compatriots. Poor ball control, poor composure and an erratic finish. Sounds like a certain dutchman playing for their merseyside rivals, though he has scored some crucial goals this year.

[Scott]

Carlos Tevez in my opinion, is the best natural finisher at Old Trafford, and is so so vital to United.

32 million is a bit too much, but with Ronaldo probably leaving for a huge fee, is it really too much ?

I think united should pay 32 million to get him, the guy is one of the best players in the world for me, and i love his all round game.

as a Celtic Fan i am worried for us in our match against United, Tevez mainly worries me, more than Rooney, mostly because if he plays, he will be so determined and hungry to show SAF that he deserves to be in the first team every week.

[Piers]

He's good, but he's not that good.

[Richard]

Sign the guy! He is the best all around player on the team. Both he and Rooney gave their all last season for the prima dona to get all those goals. That was the game plan to feed Ronaldo. For the life of me I cannot see why in hell Man U wanted Beratov(Sulkatov). The guy is useless on defense and stands around waiting for a pass.
Sign Tevez and let him run with the ball and let him do his thing on defense as well.
In the Barca game alone he made his worth by attacking their defense and forcing up the bad kicks. He is a good guy on the field, takes a shot and never dives. Does not get hurt and never complains from the bench.
He will end up at Barca or Real and then in the finals of the Champion league he will save them and defeat Man U. or Liverpool or chelsea.

[jo]

Teves is worth the money. i knew Tevez before even Ronaldo, Rooney ,Berbatov who were they when Tevez made a nmae for himself ,he is a world class striker if MAN U won't but another team will that 's how good he is and worth look what happened to Ruud van Man u let him go ,heis still a top striker yes he is ,such as shame bu t a great benefit to Real Madrid .