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Tevez would be best signing - Pallister

CARLOS Tevez can stay tangled up in red tape, as far as the Premier League's defenders are concerned.

Because, according to former United stopper Gary Pallister, the prospect of the bullish little Argentinian striker teaming up with the Reds' present stars will already be causing sleepless nights.

The longer the dispute rumbles on, the more it will be appreciated by defenders the length and breadth of the country, says Pallister.

"Those sorts of players are a nightmare for defenders," said the former England man, who was in Salford last week coaching kids who will accompany United onto the field in Sunday's Community Shield clash with Chelsea at Wembley.

Difficult

"He is a free spirit who will go and find himself any place on a football park. As a centre-half, you want centre-forwards who will play up against you. You hate players like Tevez or Peter Beardsley who play off a front man and are difficult to pick up.

"Tevez is liable to turn up anywhere - left side, right side, through the middle - and make things happen. He is a nightmare to mark, because you are never sure whether it is your job or a midfield player's job.

"He is an extremely talented individual, and obviously has the temperament as well, because last season we saw him produce his very best form despite all the hoo-hah surrounding him with his transfer saga and whether he was playing legally. Somehow, he managed to put all that to one side and produce man-of-the-match performances.

"We also know there is no problem with him adapting to the physical side of the Premier League, which some foreign players have had. If you watch Argentinian football, you know that there is no quarter asked for or given.

"It is a tough place to learn your trade and a player of his ability will have been kicked from pillar to post wherever he has played, because he will always be targeted."

Pallister has been wowed by the Reds' three summer signings - Owen Hargreaves, Nani and Anderson - but feels they will be eclipsed if a potential £30m move for the 23-year-old World Cup star materialises.

"It will be the biggest signing of the summer if they get Tevez," he said.

"As we saw from him last year, when he was in a team struggling at the bottom, he can create things on his own.

"He is a fabulous talent, and scores goals as well. He is tough, which most Argentinian players seem to be, and if you add him into the mix with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, it gives you so many options.

"If you are playing against United next season, goodness only knows how you cope with that sort of attacking flair. It is quite frightening.

"Then you throw in Nani and Anderson, who are a little bit of an unknown quantity for most people watching in the Premier League. But if they are as good as we are led to believe, they will give a few defenders headaches."

The fans have been excited by the arrival of Brazilian Anderson, Portuguese starlet Nani and the prospect of Tevez following, but no-one should underestimate the importance of Owen Hargreaves' arrival, says Pallister.

"Owen is a quality player. Before the last World Cup, everyone was saying he wasn't worth his place in the squad, never mind the team, and afterwards everyone was saying he was our best player.

"He is a fantastic athlete and a great foil for all the entertainers United now have. He is quick and aggressive, and if you are looking for someone to fill the void left by Roy Keane, that ilk of player, then you have the ideal man in Hargreaves.

Problems

"He tempers that flair that is in the side and is a really good prospect."

The one area where United have not strengthened is in defence, despite the fact that an horrendous run of injury problems left them patching up the back four for the closing stages of the season.

Pallister feels there may yet be movement on that front if Gabriel Heinze carries through his intention to leave.

He said: "Towards the end of last season, United had Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Gary Neville all out, while Heinze and Patrice Evra also had their problems with injury, and it caused difficulties.

"That made me wonder whether Sir Alex would try to strengthen, but I think he feels he can't possibly be that unlucky with injury again.

"With the players he has, as long as there is no repeat of the injury problems of last season, he is quite comfortable. A lot depends on what happens with Heinze, because if he does leave, then I am sure the manager will be looking to strengthen his defence.

"If you look from outside, I am sure Gaby's agent wouldn't act without his say-so. He found himself second fiddle to Evra last year and wants to play first-team football - you can't knock a player for wanting that.

"He obviously wants to move on. A player moving between United and Liverpool hasn't happened for 40 years, so it would be a brave move - I am sure he has kicked a few Liverpool players in his time at United, so it would be interesting to see how they would react to him."

The former England defender also defended Sir Alex Ferguson's refusal to contemplate allowing Heinze a move down the M62 to their arch-rivals.

"You certainly don't want to be strengthening Liverpool, because they have already made some great signings this summer and we are expecting them to mount a serious challenge.

"Heinze would be a big boost to that. The season before last he won the United fans' player of the year, and he is the kind of abrasive player Liverpool really need to compete for the title."