Carlos Tevez: Can he solve the Juventus striker conundrum?

So it’s finally over. Carlos Tevez’s tumultuous four years at Manchester City on astronomical wages is finished with. He is now the property of Italian champions Juventus. But is it the right move for Juventus and the right move for Mr. Tevez, who never really settled in England?

Despite showing flashes of brilliance at West Ham, Manchester United and Manchester City, Tevez’s time in England will ultimately be reviewed as a highly controversial one that brought him as many enemies as admirers. Constant complaints about being homesick, the way he was played and (reportedly) wages have made many view Tevez as the epitome of what is wrong with “modern football”.

Juventus are a side that have a large basis upon team spirit, and Tevez was thought to have divided many of the dressing rooms he was in. To be truly successful at his new club, one would assume Tevez must integrate quickly and handle himself with a lot more maturity.

Few would question whether Tevez has the raw technical ability to score goals in Serie A. The Argentinian scored 58 times in 113 appearances for City in the Premier League, but also provided his teammates with 13 assists in his last season. You can expect Tevez to cause problems due to his tenacity and determination, feeding off passes and crosses with his movement. Much like Luis Suarez, defenders can’t rest when Tevez is around, while set pieces are another way in which Tevez excels.

However, despite his finishing ability, Tevez isn’t exactly a typical centre forward. He regularly drops back and out wide, but Juventus do not really need that with the likes of Stephan Lichtsteiner, Kwadwo Asamoah, Arturo Vidal, Sebastian Giovinco and Claudio Marchisio, to name just a few, already offering those services.

If Tevez does play like the central attacking midfielder he was at times last season, there will be a gaping hole in the penalty box when Juventus attack. Therefore, Tevez may well need a striker to play alongside in the same way he did with Adebayor and then Aguero at Manchester City, or as he did with Rooney or Berbatov at Manchester United.

So if Juventus are forced to play Tevez alongside a player like this in their 3-5-2 formation, who will it be? The Old Lady have added Fernando Llorente to their squad for the new season, while Fabio Quagliarella, Mirko Vu?ini?, Alessandro Matri and Sebastian Giovinco are all still at the club; but many question whether these are capable of carrying Juventus to the next level; in other words, the closing stages of the Champions League.

Juventus have a very settled starting eleven and general squad with the exception of the man that spearheads the attack. His form for Bilbao especially in the Europa League campaign of 2011-12 suggested that Llorente was good enough to change all this, but a mere 5 goals in 36 games in his last season at Bilbao have created some doubts.