Thursday, 27 June 2013

Manchester City striker Carlos Tévez closes in on £10m Juventus switch - Telegraph.co.uk

City's only significant disappointment has been the failure to recruit Malaga midfielder Isco, who is poised to join Real Madrid, although Pellegrini is hoping that Samir Nasri can thrive in a similar role.

The prospective departure of Tévez will still raise questions about whether City have sufficient firepower to regain the Premier League title from Manchester United.

Tévez scored 73 goals in 138 games during four seasons at City which also included one Premier League title and one FA Cup win. His time at City, however, will also be remembered for his very public fallout with former manager Roberto Mancini amid accusations – denied by Tévez – that he refused to come on as a substitute during a Champions League game against Bayern Munich in 2011.

He also put in a transfer request during the previous season and there would be irony in him finally leaving City only after Mancini – with whom he had such a strained relationship – has already left.

Tévez's two seasons at Manchester United also contained a mixture of on-field success and off-field unrest, but did peak with him helping the team win both the Champions League and World Club Cup.

His achievement in helping to keep West Ham United in the Premier League during the 2006-7 season came to be overshadowed by further off-field controversies. West Ham were found to have breached Premier League rules relating to third party influence and acting in good faith towards other clubs over the signings of Tévez and Javier Mascherano. They avoided a points deduction, however, and it was hugely controversial that Tévez should be permitted to play in the concluding matches of the 2006-7 season.

City also have to hold talks with England internationals Joleon Lescott and Gareth Barry, who, like Tévez, have only a year left on their present contracts. With Fernandinho signing, Barry's future at City would appear to be in some doubt while defender Lescott lost his place last season to Matija Nastasic.

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