It seems Carlos Tevez is ready to turn over a new leaf as his club Shanghai Shenhua reveal that the striker has lost a stone in weight, as reported by The Straits Times.
The Argentine has endured a turbulent first season in the Middle Kingdom, but now appears to be keen to make amends with fans that have dubbed him a "very homesick boy."
After a big-money move from Boca Juniors, Tevez's debut came in the AFC Champions League but the Premier League and Serie A winner couldn't help his new club from crashing out of the competition in their qualification game.
Battling a spate of injuries, playing time for Tevez has subsequently been limited.
Only managing four goals in 15 appearances, the striker was later branded as being too overweight to play by manager, Wu Jingui. Soon after, Shenhua's chairman also admitted that Tevez wasn't meeting the club's expectations.
The striker then didn't exactly enamor himself to fans when he criticized the level of Chinese players and their skill. This later caused speculation over the player being downgraded to the reserve team - though Shenhua were quick to dismiss this, they admitted to challenging the forward to, "show the real stuff."
However, now the Argentine appears to want to prove himself to his doubters.
Scoring in Shenhua's 5-1 drubbing of Yanbian Funde last weekend in the Chinese Super League, the former Manchester United man seems ready to make a further statement of intent as his team take on Liaoning Whowin this Saturday.
After raising themselves from the relegation zone they were mired in earlier this season, Shenhua and Tevez also have the FA Cup Final against cross-city rivals, Shanghai SIPG to look forward to.
The first leg is scheduled to take place on November 19 at the Hongkou Stadium with the second leg to be hosted by SIPG on November 26 at the Shanghai Stadium.
Should Tevez be serious about his claims of proving himself and winning over the fans, the FA Cup Final sure would be some time to make that statement.
[Image via ESPN]
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