Edin Dzeko is a £27.5m tonic for Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez troubles

Carlos Tevez put in a transfer request earlier this season

Carlos Tevez’s ill-timed transfer request was a timely reminder to the Manchester City hierarchy of  just how unhealthy their dependence on the irascible Argentinian could be. The goalscoring burden has been carried dexterously by the club captain all season but Tevez’s employers must be uncomfortable about the extent of their reliance on a player who has repeatedly professed his lack of long term commitment to the cause.

After bending over backwards to accomodate Tevez, making him the highest player at the club and allowing him to return home at every available opportunity, the temptation must have been to banish him to the reserves when he issued a statement announcing he no longer wished to remain at Manchester City.

The thought of fielding an attack without Tevez at the tip was not one manager Roberto Mancini was willing to countenance and a rapid rapprochement was reached to allow the team’s top scorer to continue to lead the line. Privately though the people who preside over the club’s colossal payroll must have questioned how a situation had been allowed to arise whereby one player could yield quite so much power.

The major reason which they find themselves so beholden to Tevez is that since exchanging Manchester teams he  has become one of the most prolific strikers in Premier League history.  Another factor is the exorbitant transfer fee and wages which the Abu Dhabi Group had to offer in order to persuade him to forsake Champion’s League football and become a part of their ambitious project. If they did sell Tevez it would be at a substantial loss and the impending financial fair regulations make it imperative that they get the best out of a player who is earning in the region of £12 million a year.

Mancini must shoulder his share of the blame for the situation. He has another £80 million worth of striking talent at his disposal but has failed to find a satisfactory way to utilize it. Emmanuel Adebayor’s character may be questionable but he is still a proven goalscorer who should offer a viable alternative to Tevez as Manchester City’s sole striker. The days when Roque Santa Cruz troubled the Premier League top goalscorer charts might be long gone but there aren’t many teams in Europe which could afford to persistently leave such a talented player out of the squad altogether.

If Mancini had managed his attacking resources a little more effectively Tevez would be just one of a number of options up front. Instead he has chosen to ostracize Santa Cruz almost entirely and made his lack of faith in Adebayor abundantly clear by persistently picking Jo ahead of him. Balotelli has been more of a success story but he has been employed in a wide role and his temperament precludes the possibility of him being considered a satisfactory replacement for Tevez, at least for the time being.

Had Tevez’s discontent simmered to the extent that he refused to take to the field, a possibility which seemed distinct at one stage, Manchester City’s feint hopes of winning the Premier League would have all but evaporated in his absence. It is this precarious situation which led Mancini to make a mid season move for long term transfer target Edin Dzeko.

At £27.5 million Dzeko is an expensive insurance policy against a Tevez tantrum. Both in the Bundesliga and at international level the Bosnian has been one of Europe’s outstanding strikers for several seasons. The dilemma which Mancini now faces is how he can accomodate two prolific front men in the same attack.

Assuming Manchester City stick to playing a 4-3-3 formation, and it is highly unlikely that Mancini would jeapordize his side’s defensive solidity by sacrificing one of the three midfielders, there is only room for one out and out front man. Tevez could conceivably play out wide but he has found form as a central striker and it is a role he will be highly reluctant to relinquish.

Dzeko is accustomed to playing with a partner in a 4-4-2 system and formed the most effective strikeforce in Bundesliga history alongside Grafite a couple of seasons ago. He is considerably taller than Tevez at 6 ft 3 ¹⁄₂ inches and will pose much more of an aerial threat but is not a particularly pacy player and is far less likely to thrive in a wide role. It is difficult to escape the conclusion that the only suitable position for Dzeko in the Manchester City formation is the one currently occupied  by Tevez.

What the arrival of Dzeko does do is radically alter the dynamic between the captain and the club. Whereas before Tevez was able to call the shots Manchester City can now manage their temperamental talisman from a position of strength. Mancini has effectively brought a £27.5 million bargaining chip to the table.

If Tevez agitates for another transfer Manchester City can afford to strip him of the captaincy and drop him from the first team because they have a ready made replacement in Dzeko. If they decide to sell the player they can afford to wait until a club meets their asking price knowing that they have already signed his successor. If Tevez goes on strike or follows through with his threat to retire they can simply stop paying him and sue for a substantial sum of money.

Tevez might now think twice before making outlandish contract demands or issuing inflammatory ultimatums. By bringing in Dzeko at this stage of the season Manchester City are sending a clear signal to their captain that no man is bigger than the club.

Picture: Getty Images

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