As Good as Carlos Tevez? Five Similar Options for City to Snap Up

Carlos Tevez has made no secret of his desire to move away from Manchester City in the past few months. This week has seen Brazilian side Corinthians make a £35m bid for their former striker and although the club has subsequently rejected the offer, Roberto Mancini must decide whether to keep the player or cash in and re-invest.

It’s not as if City need the money- their Abu Dhabi owners have unlimited resources but Mancini will be fully aware of the effect an unhappy Tevez may have on squad morale, should he force the player to stay at Eastlands. With the likes of Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli already on their books, City have quality options up front but their system seems to work more efficiently with Tevez as the lone front man.

With this in mind, we set about analysing Europe’s top five leagues in order to determine those forwards whose game would offer City something similar to Carlos Tevez. His key offensive stats - 2.8 Shots, 1.7 Key Passes and 2 Successful Dribbles per game- were exceptional, with only three forwards exceeding Tevez across all three categories: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez.

While these findings show just how impressive Suarez was for Liverpool last season, it highlights just how difficult a job City have on their hands trying to replace Tevez. Regardless of transfer budget, City would be unable to entice either Messi or Ronaldo and with Suarez only signing for Liverpool in January, there’s no chance of any of the trio making a switch to Eastlands.

We then dropped the threshold for each stat, instead looking for forwards who had a minimum of 2 shots, 1.5 key passes and 1.5 successful dribbles per game.  This time, another five players fitted the bill; one from the Premier League, three from Serie A and one from La Liga, with neither the Bundesliga nor Ligue 1 contributing a single player.

A look at WhoScored.com’s player analysis shows Carlos Tevez’s “Character Strengths” also include passing, through balls and defensive contribution. Adding this to the mix, we analyse the five as to ascertain which one would be best suited to fill the breach in the event of Tevez’s departure.

Peter Odemwingie
The only Premier League forward of our five, the Nigerian had an exceptional debut season for West Brom, scoring 15 and assisting 7 of his side’s 56 goals. Odemwingie’s eye-catching campaign has seen him linked with a move away from the Hawthorns this close season, with Arsenal said to be amongst his many suitors.

His attacking stats are almost identical to Tevez’s; 2.6 shots to the Argentine’s 2.8, 1.8 key passes to 1.7 and 1.8 successful dribbles to 2. Odemwingie’s finishing was also impressive; he had 83 shots in total, scoring with 15, a ratio of 1 goal per 5.53 shots.

Defensively, however, Tevez’s work-rate leaves Odemwingie trailing. Tevez’s 1 Tackle and 0.8 Interceptions is almost double the West Brom man’s 0.5 Tackles and 0.5 Interceptions respectively. Tevez also beats Odemwingie for pass accuracy (83% to 78%) and through balls, 0.4 to 0.2 per game.

Samuel Eto’o
Third top scorer in Serie A last season with 21 goals for Inter, it’s easy to see why Eto’o has been linked with a move to Eastlands. Mancini has admitted a proposed swap deal involving the two fell through, with Inter refusing to sell, but Eto’o has spoken of his desire to play in the Premier League and a straight cash offer may prove more successful.

Eto’o had a total of 87 shots, scoring 21, which is a ratio of 1 goal per 4.14 shots. Of our featured five, he is the only one to better Tevez’s tally of 1 goal per 4.35 shots. Eto’o’s trickery on the ball is shown in his 2.7 successful dribbles, again the best of the five, and greater than Tevez’s 2 by some distance.

Eto’o matches Tevez for through balls (0.4) and is virtually identical when it comes to pass accuracy, with 81% to the Man City man’s 83%. His work-rate is slightly down in comparison, though, with a total of 1.3 Tackles & Interceptions per game beaten by Tevez on 1.8.

Mauro Zárate
The Lazio man showed plenty of adaptability last season and his performances were pivotal to the club’s fifth place finish. Zárate made 28 starts, with 13 up front and the other 15 right across the attacking midfield in Lazio’s 4-2-3-1.

Zárate’s shots per game (2.3) were inferior to Tevez and his finishing - 1 goal for every 8.88 shots- was no doubt influenced by him playing in midfield in more than half his Serie A starts. Nevertheless, he was the equal of Tevez for key passes (1.7) and edged him for successful dribbles, with 2.2 per game.

Tevez fares better for defensive contribution though, with Zárate’s combined total of 1 Tackles & Interceptions per game nearly half the Argentine’s 1.8. Zárate’s passing (80%) is similar to Tevez, though he rarely plays through balls, with just 0.1 per game.

Ezequiel Lavezzi
Lavezzi has already been mentioned with a move to City this summer and his attributes show why. Mainly played behind a lone front man in Napoli’s 3-4-2-1, only 5 of his 29 starts came as a forward. Tevez beats his compatriot in shots (2.8 to 2.5) but Lavezzi’s skill on the ball impressed more, with 2.4 Key Passes (the most creative of our featured players) and 2.3 successful dribbles.

He has the lowest chance conversion rate here, with 1 goal per 12.83 shots, though this can partly be attributed to his position last season, with more shots coming from distance. Nevertheless, 6 goals represent a poor return.

Lavezzi’s work rate is not quite up to Tevez’s standards; his combined total of 1 Tackle & Interception per game is, the same as Zárate, almost half that of Tevez. His pass accuracy may be slightly lower (77%) but 12 assists and 0.5 through balls per game highlight his eye for a killer pass.

Giuseppe Rossi
The final player in our round-up, Rossi has already been linked with a move to Juventus this summer, following his 18 goals and 5 assists for Villarreal last season. Rossi was the equal of Tevez for shots (2.8) and also edged him for key passes (1.8 to 1.7), though the successful dribbles of Tevez just won here, 2 to 1.8.

His goal conversion rate is impressive; 18 goals from 101 shots equates to 1 goal every 5.61 shots and highlights the shooting prowess that helped his side to a fourth place La Liga finish.

Rossi’s work-rate is the only one that is superior to Tevez, with 1.1 tackles and 0.9 interceptions per game. When it comes to through balls he is also the equal of Tevez, with 0.4 per game, though his passing accuracy is beaten slightly, 83% to 79%.

Of all five players, Rossi just pips Eto’o when it comes to a similarity in stats to Tevez and a move for the player would clearly be within the realms of City’s capabilities. Rossi’s previous years at Old Trafford, however, could prove to be the stumbling block, with a move to Man United’s city rivals perhaps a bridge too far.