Carlos Tevez: Can he solve the Juventus striker conundrum?

Tevez is probably a bigger name than any of the aforementioned, but his ability to be in the right place at the right time and to be consistently putting in the same shift every week makes this deal seem like a massive gamble in many respects.

Gonzalo Higuain is one name who has been linked with Juventus for a while now, as he is expected to leave Real Madrid. Higuain is more of a typical centre forward than his fellow Argentine Tevez is, and plays a more central role too. Although Higuain is less of a powerhouse than Tevez, Higuain’s finishing tends to be a lot more accomplished and is a probably more reliable.

Javier Hernandez is another name that has been linked with Juventus as his movement and almost permanent presence in and around the box makes him seem like the ideal man for this industrious, well-organised Juventus team. Tevez was the talisman at almost every team when he enjoyed his best period, with some speculating Tevez wasn’t cut out for Manchester United due to his ego. Once again, the addition of Tevez to this Juventus team seems risky.

One of my key memories of Juventus’s season were the two games against eventual winners FC Bayern München in the Champions League. Expecting a close, tactical game, I was highly impressed by Bayern in both games, but also equally disappointed with Juventus, who were comfortably beaten 2-0 in both games, and 4-0 on aggregate.

In truth, the score line could have been a lot worse for the Italian champions, as Bayern overpowered them in pretty much every department. Although the mere presence of a striker would not have simply stopped Bayern, having a player as tenacious as Tevez almost certainly would have given Juventus some inspiration and potential to claw back into these games.

In his first two seasons especially, Tevez excelled against teams where City were perhaps the underdogs, with two goals away at Chelsea in a 4-2 victory in 2009-10 being a prime example of what Tevez can do when he counter attacks with the ball at his feet. Even though Juventus will not be underdogs too many times this season, when they counter attack, Tevez is arguably the best man to create and finish for the Old Lady.

All in all, €9 million for Tevez is a bargain, with Manchester City clearly desperate to, at last, get him off their books and wage bill. His personal disciplinary record and all round being have put a stigma around Tevez, but he will work hard and is a real ace in any team’s pack. How much he fits into Juventus’ system and dressing room remains to be seen, but Tevez adds yet more quality to Conte’s squad and could be the striking solution the Italian club have needed for a while now.

Whatever happens, it is unlikely that Carlos Tevez will not create some headlines in Turin, and it shall be interesting to see how many goals and assists he creates, too.