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| Tuesday 6 January, 2009 |
| Blog: Tantalising Tevez |
| Shouldn’t Inter be capitalising on the Carlos Tevez situation at Man Utd? Steve Wilson thinks so |
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Inter need a striker who will do the dirty work in the second half of the season that Zlatan Ibrahimovic won’t lower himself to get involved with. Meanwhile, Manchester United won’t, or more likely can’t afford to, pay to make one of their world-class forwards a permanent member of the squad. Add in the fact that said goal-getter, Carlos Tevez, is an Argentine – like so many other components of the Nerazzurri puzzle – and the deal seems a no-brainer.
Nobody can question Ibrahimovic’s ability – he is a net-rippler par excellence. The only problem is more often than not his strikes are sublime efforts rather than scrappy tap-ins. It is a shocking revelation to discover that nobody other than Ibra and wing-back Douglas Maicon has scored more than three goals for Inter this season in Serie A. They may still be top of the table, but they need some extra firepower, someone who can battle and fight, someone just like Tevez.
Diego Milito has been ruled out as a target, Julio Cruz has remained lumbered with the super-sub role, Hernan Crespo is in the wilderness, Victor Obinna is untested in a title-chasing side and Mario Balotelli has yet to get off the mark. That leaves Jose Mourinho with just Adriano to rely on as back-up to the Super Swede – can Massimo Moratti really risk the championship when an outlay of around £20m would add a vital injection to the club’s attacking options?
The amazing thing is that the barrel-chested brawler is even available. He as good as matched English equivalent Wayne Rooney goal for goal in all competitions last season and is only a few strikes behind this term – despite playing most of his games from the bench. Aside from goals he offers just as much hard-work and brawn as Rooney – yet the Scouse would never be sold by Alex Ferguson and it appears he will never be deposed by Tevez as United’s No 1 either.
As well as adding a lethal element to the Serpenti’s mix the transfer would also allow Apache to win himself a regular place at a club which has no domestic equivalent already on their books. The deal would also rob Inter’s Champions League opponents of a key squad man ahead of their last 16 clash. With the fee going to agent Kia Joorabchian rather than the Old Trafford side, the obvious stumbling block of selling an asset to a direct rival is also side-stepped.
Of course, we don’t know what is going on in the corridors of power at San Siro. As pundits our currency is speculation and conjecture. However, Moratti’s currency is cold hard cash and if he really is serious about seeing Inter conquer Europe and maintain their dominance on the peninsula then he must act now with a smash and grab raid for the South American. It would be a short-term fix and a long-term investment – and perhaps the smartest bit of business he has ever done.
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