Why Man City are playing it cool over Tevez

Manchester City's reaction - or more significantly the lack of reaction - to Carlos Tevez's latest demand to leave reflects the state of calm around Eastlands surrounding the player's future.

When the striker submitted a transfer request in December, citing a breakdown with executives at the club, City responded with a strong statement condemning the "unfortunate and unwelcome distraction".

This time around, when Tevez made another plea to quit, insisting the decision was prompted by the painful separation from his family, City were more interested in completing a deal to sign Partizan Belgrade defender Stefan Savic, a second signing in 24 hours after the arrival of Gael Clichy from Arsenal, than making a fuss of the Argentine.

The message was clear: City are looking to the future with new faces and Tevez must wait until more pressing business has been concluded before his situation is addressed.

Despite optimistic noises from manager Roberto Mancini, there was no sense of shock around Eastlands, or among the club's Abu Dhabi ownership, when Tevez, currently with Argentina at the Copa America, again expressed his wish to play elsewhere.

I understand chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak was "sanguine and relaxed" about Tevez's request - and was in no mood to make a plea for him to stay, as has been suggested.

The chairman's mood was reflected around and inside the club as City began the process of dealing with a situation that has hardly caught them by surprise, given Tevez's restless history.

This is because City are convinced they are in a position of complete strength and able to dictate any future deal, if indeed there is one, totally on their terms.

City's only comment was brief, as the BBC was told: "Carlos is a contracted player to Manchester City for another three years and we have had no offers for him."

Tevez has not made a renewed formal request to leave, so City do not feel the need to respond in detail to the latest twist in what is a long saga involving their 27-year-old forward, who captained the club to victory over Stoke City in last season's FA Cup final, their first major trophy in 35 years.

City's confidence is built on solid foundations. They are financially strong enough to demand the highest price, almost certainly in excess of £40m, for Tevez and decline to do business should it not arrive.

They are arguably better placed than any club in world football to hold out for the fee they desire. The vast wealth of their owners means there is no urgent need for cash to flow in to Eastlands.
Tevez scoring against former club Manchester United

The club is not unsympathetic to the difficulties caused by Tevez's separation from his family and have tried to be as accommodating as possible but this does not mean they will countenance a cut-price deal.

The manner in which they faced down his powerful and trusted advisor Kia Joorabchian in December illustrated that they will not cave in.

It also means the number of clubs who can afford Tevez - and who fit in with his profile of club he wishes to play for - is drastically reduced. Tevez has three years left on a contract reportedly worth in excess of £200,000 a week.
And will potential pursuers, with Milan believed to be a favoured destination, baulk at the idea of paying such lavish prices for a player who has proved he has the touch of the wandering spirit about him?

Only last week, Inter Milan sporting director Marco Branca told BBC Sport: "Tevez is a great player, a great character, but absolutely no. His salary means it is out of the question. The market is crazy at the moment and it is hard to compete."

In Tevez's defence, he was outstanding after deciding to withdraw that first transfer request, proving an instrumental figure as City won the FA Cup and finished third to secure a place in the Champions League.

He handled himself with consummate professionalism, winning back the supporters angered by his wish to leave before the turn of the year, although his relationship with Mancini always bore the look of an uneasy truce.

If Tevez leaves, he will do so having taken the club to their desired destination of the Champions League and with that elusive trophy also won.

Mancini will find that Tevez is tough to replace, especially as Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli have failed to fulfil their potential despite City's outlay of more than £50m on the pair.

This is the biggest problem facing City but at least they are able to compete with any club in the world for talent and can now offer Champions League football as an added attraction, as former City midfielder Paul Lake pointed out when interviewed by BBC Sport.

"Everyone knows Carlos has been a major player," said Lake. "He has been our talisman. Although the timing is not great, we are a massive football club now. We will be able to deal with it and we will move on.

"We are in the Champions League, we have won the FA Cup, we are going places and there are so many players out there who would jump at the chance of playing for Manchester City.

"We are now competing and challenging for the same players as Manchester United, Chelsea and Barcelona. We feel we can attract the players to replace Carlos and still go on to bigger and better things."

The sense on Tuesday was that City, because of their recent successes, are in a better position to handle any trauma surrounding Tevez than they were in December.

If Tevez thought a simple declaration of discontent would provide a fast route out of Eastlands, he may be disappointed.

City are willing to play a long game until the right deal comes along.